Gaius followed his mother while holding onto her hands, his brother holding onto his other hand forming a chain behind him with Duncan at the end. The many stairways that branched out from the seats led to an easy and hassle-free evacuation. Gaius soon found himself within a sea of people as they discussed the duel with fervent emotions. Gaius looked around him and saw people cheering and hugging each other with eyes filled with tears. They smiled and ate snacks with hope in their eyes and the burden of their hard lives became a bit less heavy.
“Useless! All of them. Where in the Father’s name did Mathias get a Heavenly practitioner?!” a man yelled within the crowd. Gaius saw him and surprised by the elaborate robe the man wore with its pure white color and black embroidered stitching. Though the man was traveling within the dusty road, not a speck of dirt tarnished his robe, shoes, or skin. Gaius shockingly noticed that there was a small subtle aura covering his body. Even with his heightened aura-sight, it was still difficult for him to see it.
“Sir, the beast man was actually a practitioner of the Aspect of Beasts. It was his companion that had an innate affinity for the Aspect of the Moon. His name is Sylus Buch sir. From the Buch family. Though not very prominent here in the Calet cities or even the capital, his family is headquartered in the City of Bant. His family heritage can be traced back to the Founding,” a servant said.
“Ah! What luck! He easily dominated our sword mage—our trump card! A whole Father’s forsaken year without trade rights,” the man angrily said.
“Mom, who is that man?” Gen asked quietly.
“From the looks of his clothes and anger, he’s probably from North Calet,” she replied as she watched the man fume before her, “maybe from a prominent family.”
Governor Hem was already extremely angry with the duel and while he was walking back to his residence within South Calet, he overheard some peasants question his identity. “’Maybe from some prominent family!?’ Do these peasants not know who stands before them?!” Governor Hem thought to himself. Looking for an outlet to release his anger, he turned around and glared at Gaius and his family. “I AM GOVERNOR HEM CALET, RULER OF NORTH CALET! You dare to show disrespect to a member of the Calet family within these city walls?!” he bellowed in rage.
Shocked by the sudden turn of events, Tulia’s mind churned to figure out the best course of action. She slightly bowed her head and said, “My apologies my lord, please forgive our ignorance, we hail from a village in the far north and have only recently arrived.”
“I do not tolerate insolence and disrespect!” the man yelled as he was in no mood for magnanimity, “the punishment for such crimes is 10 lashings!” the man turned to his servant and said, “carry out my judgement!”
Though Governor Hem was not known to be merciful, even his servant thought that his behavior was a bit extreme. He hesitated for a moment which earned him a hateful glare that said ‘if you don’t lash them, I will lash you along with them’. Bowed into submission the servant approached the family of four. Looking around, the servant saw a bamboo cane and picked it up.
Seeing the man approach her and her family, Tulia’s anger rose quickly. Through her gritted teeth she said, “Sir, please accept my plea for mercy. My family will pay any fine, just spare us from punishment.”
“You have shown disrespect to the Calet name, to recompense this affront with gold is a mockery as the Calet name is invaluable,” the man said with a slight tilt of his head. “This is not something I expect country peasants to understand! It is now 15 lashes each!” he commanded to his servant.
Anger and ferocity started to bubble within her. She used all of her control to keep her fury in check. Gaius stood next to his mother and could feel the roaring aura that simmered within her. He also noticed that the ‘servant’ in front him had a rich thick aura as well.
Tulia looked towards the servant and said, “Take one step further and I shall make all of you regret your actions this day.” Her gazed pierced the man and he suddenly halted within his steps. Governor Hem was indignant and screamed, “Now you threaten an officer of the king’s court! That is punishable by death!” This shook the servant out of his temporary daze and he scolded himself for letting fear wash over him.
The four bodyguards that were standing near the governor now joined the servant and approached the family of 4 with weapons drawn.
Duncan took his two sons and pulled them back from the fight, knowing full well the capabilities of his wife, “Don’t worry boys,” he reassured them. He then used his hands to cover the boys’ eyes, while he himself closed his tightly.
“Ah!” Tulia shouted. Power erupted from her body. Her aura condensed quickly and she directed it at the 4 bodyguards and the servant blinding them. Gaius watched with his aura-sight as he let the Aspect of Light wash over him.
Tulia’s figured became hazy and then she was gone. The blinding light that seared the eyesight of the 5 before her also made it difficult for those watching to see what was happening. When their eyes adjusted though, which took a few minutes, the family of 4 was already gone. On the ground were the bodyguards, the servant, and the governor; though all 6 were alive they were knocked unconscious.
Duncan held onto his two sons while Tulia guided him through the streets and alleyways as he too was blinded by the flash through his eyelids, except for Gaius and Gen. With his aura-sight he was able to see what his mother did. She first directed the flash of light against the 5 before her, and the residual effects of that blast momentarily blinded the spectators.
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What Gaius saw next stunned him. The aura within his mother disappeared and reappeared behind the bodyguards. She struck them with something, he couldn’t see. He only saw her aura “teleport” behind the bodyguards and then she “teleported” back in front of him to lead them away. It all happened near-instantly. By the time they recovered from their shock, they were nowhere near the incident.
From wherever they were, they headed north back towards the inn. The family first walked in silence as Tulia’s rage had yet to abate. The first that spoke was Gen, “Are we going to be okay?”
“Yes, mother will never let anything happen to you,” she quickly replied, perhaps a bit harsh with her anger still lingering.
“Mom, how did you move so quickly?” Gaius asked after his brother broke the ice.
Even though they were in a hurry, Tulia stopped dead in her tracks and eyed Gaius directly and said, “You were able to see my movements?”
“Um, no. Just your aura. One moment you were here” he said while motioning with his hands, “and the next you were here,” he moved his hands from right to left.
“Hmm, your keen senses never cease to amaze me. I wonder if all anti…” she looked around to ensure no one was listening, “if all antimages have senses like yours,” she finished. They began to walk north, slowing their pace down as to not look conspicuous.
By the time they reached their inn, word had already spread about the attack on the Governor of North Calet.
“Sorry boys, but I think it would be best that we leave this city for now. Who knows what that crazy governor will do,” Tulia said apologetically. “Go pack all of our stuff, I’ll get the wagon.”
Gaius followed his father and brother up the stairs as they entered their room. “Boys, pack up your things, I’ll handle everything else,” he instructed.
Soon, the three left their room in a mess and walked to the side of the inn to find Tulia waiting atop the wagon. “Quickly,” she urged them while waving her hands over. As they started to stroll away from the inn, Tulia overheard some gossip, “A warrior family of 4 attacked Governor Hem after the duel earlier! They said that the barbarian family hailed from the deep north. Mother and father went berserk while their two sons disemboweled the guards and servants in an instant.”
“What?! How scary. I hope the city guard catches them,” another replied.
“I hear there are double guards at the gates, and search parties roaming the streets,” the first said.
Tulia thought about their situation for a while. “I could use the token, but . . .” her body shook in rage as she considered her first and safest option. She breathed deeply to calm herself, “I’ll use it as a last resort, until then I guess Duncan can take the boys out of the city.”
She turned to her husband and said, “Honey, you need to take the boys out. The guards are looking for a family of 4, it might be easier if I slip out of the city before you. Meet me at the docks at sunset.”
“What about . . .” Duncan shut his mouth as he saw the fiery anger burning in her eyes and just nodded.
Tulia jumped off the wagon and made her way through the crowd, and Duncan climbed atop the driver’s seat and maintained a calm demeanor.
The wagon slowly made their way south. The two boys were seated within the wagon and though appeared calm, were anything but. “I wonder what will happen to mom. Do you think they’ll let us leave? It was the stupid governor’s fault,” the whispered between each other. The boys were tired and hungry from the slow moving wagon, as it was already late in the afternoon. After passing through the fighting pits from earlier that day, the wagon kept on moving ever southward towards the docks.
They finally reached the southern gate that led to the docks an hour or so before sunset, but to boys’ dismay they were stopped and questioned by the guards.
“What business did you have in our city?” the guard eyed the man and the two boys in the wagon.
“What is the meaning of this?!” Duncan roared. Gaius and Gen were surprised by their dad’s sudden behavior.
The guard took a small step back as he addressed Duncan, “We are on the lookout for a fugitive family of 4. They attacked Governor Hem today. They’re described as a barbaric family with two young boys hailing from the deep north,” the soldier calmly reported.
“I am Duncan Wyn, Craftsman Alchemist. I was selling my wares within your city and now depart for the capital to continue my trade,” Duncan said with an air of arrogance.
“Ah, my apologies for the delay sir. But we must inspect your token and your wares to show proof of identity,” the soldier’s face sunk. “Father’s forsaken. A Craftsman, just my luck,” he thought to himself.
“If I miss the next boat out of the city, I will hold you responsible for this!” Duncan fumed. He threw the guard a small token. Etched upon the smooth token—of an unknown material, was a picture of 5 flasks and two stars at the bottom. “Novitiates, show these men our leftover stock from today’s trade,” he shouted to the back without looking at them.
Gaius and Gen were ever mindful of the current situation, “Novitiate?” they thought to themselves. Then there was a guard standing at the back of the wagon expectedly, and Gaius and Gen fell into step and pushed their two crates to the back and opened their wares. The guard inspecting their vials was a different one than the one Duncan berated.
Upon opening the stopper of a random vial and wafting the aroma, the guard’s eyes widen in shock and quickly capped the vial. He then carefully placed it back where he found it. Though his inspection job was done, he continued to linger and stared at the crates with eyes wide as he made quick calculations on how much the crate in front of him was worth. He looked at the first guard and nodded.
“My apologies Craftsman Alchemist, you may be on your way.”
“Humph!” Duncan snorted and continued towards the docks.
Once the wagon rolled away, the two guards stood side-by-side. “Hey, what’s with that face?”
After a period of silence the first guard continued, “Hey Maziah, what’s gotten into you?”
“When I inspected those vials, they were the richest and most fragrant tonics I’ve ever seen. Anywhere. Those two crates must be worth hundreds of gold,” Maziah said absentmindedly.
“No kidding? Well, at least we know they aren’t the barbarian family,” the first guard said as he turned around.
“Hey Weck?” Maziah said.
“Hmm?” Weck replied as he turned back around.
“It’s odd isn’t it? A traveling alchemist with such valuables and no guards to defend his goods,” Maziah said.
“I suppose it is, but the river is rather safe. I’m sure he isn’t the one we’re looking for,” the other replied.
“Yes, the river is rather safe, but unfortunate things happen to people all the time. Even to those who carry hundreds of gold of tonics,” Maziah said with undisguised greed.