Ranloo tried to keep calm despite the ravaging hunger. He didn't want to stay in the old dirty house, but at least it was preferable to going out and killing people. Talking to the thief had been a big challenge. Several times he'd lost track of the conversation, staring at his neck or listening to his heartbeat. The fact that his behaviour made the boy nervous didn't make it any easier. He could smell the fear and the pumping blood. He wanted it. But he refused to give in. Dizzy, and at his limit, he groaned in relief when the thief finally left. Ranloo paced around the empty house, avoiding the kitchen. He remembered his initial fervour with the great city, and how quickly that had turned against him. It felt like years ago...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Awestruck, Ranloo and Lindhinin rode in complete silence for a long time, taking in all the sights and smells. Beyond the hydra fountain, a big marketplace opened up, filled with people, animals, and merchants. Jesters dancing, nobles eyeing fabrics and jewellery, people inspecting livestock, testing weapons, and trading all kinds of things. Beyond the crowd, a tall stone building overlooked the square. The guards in full-plate armour, fancy spires and towers marked it as an important place. It looked like a small castle. Ranloo pointed and asked Dylnan about it.
´It's the chancellor's office, where important documents are made,` he replied sharply without turning his head.
Lindhinin glanced at Ranloo and grimaced. Dylnan was still angry about the incident with the guards. Ranloo shrugged. Nothing to do about it.
Behind the chancery, another smaller square opened. This one didn't look as vibrant as the first and held a much different crowd. Animals waited in cages and small pens to be sold. The din was overwhelming.
Ranloo gazed around and spotted a wooden gallows with poles and ropes designed to execute criminals. He shuddered at the humans' barbaric practices. Luckily, no one stood by the blocks at this time. Further ahead, large animal cages caught his attention. There were people in them.
Slaves.
He rose in his stirrups to see better but Dylnan pulled him back down.
´Sit down and don't make a scene,` he said harshly.
Ranloo obeyed but kept looking in their direction. It was unbelievable that humans would even cage people, and sell them like animals. He stared at the cages and the rich people inspecting the slaves for as long as he could. He discerned humans, dwarfs, a few lizardmen, and even a furry ikelos. When his line of sight was blocked by stalls, people, and buildings, he returned his attention to where they headed.
Ranloo soon became lost in the maze of streets, roads, and squares. Jaris was so different from the forest and elven cities. Too many people and too little space, he reflected. Every now and then they had to ride in a line or stop entirely. At one point, Dylnan had to force his way through a crowd by slowly riding into people to get them to move aside.
This city was fantastic and monstrous at the same time, Ranloo thought. It reminded him of an old saying; Upon entering Jaris, watch your step, or be swallowed by the warrens.
In the early afternoon, they left the busy streets and entered a more open area with big building complexes, gardens, temples, and academies. They found the ranger school walled in behind a tall iron fence. Metal barbs adorned the top, discouraging anyone from climbing over. A woman dressed in ranger gear stood by the open entrance. Behind her, a large courtyard opened up with stables on the left. The main building rose straight ahead, and over to the right lay training grounds. Young men and women practised with bows and arrows there. Ranloo smiled at the students' inexperience and clumsy handling of their weapons. Lindhinin would show them how to handle bows like experts, he thought.
Dylnan greeted the ranger by the entrance and introduced them.
´Welcome,` she said with a smile. ´We have expected you. I hope you didn't experience any trouble on the way?` she courteously inquired as she led them to the stables.
´None other than we bring ourselves.` Dylnan glanced at Ranloo.
She smiled and eyed the darkelf. ´We have prepared stalls for your horses. You can leave them here.`
Two young boys and a girl ran up to take the reins from the elves and led their horses away as soon as they had removed their gear.
They were led to the main building and introduced to the head of the school, Master Caelem Step; an older man in his sixties, with thinning grey hair and a great white beard. He stood tall and straight despite his age and his eyes were clear and sharp. He showed them to their rooms, explained the rules, and told them of the meal times and practices. They taught riding, survival skills, and tracking, among other things.
Running a tight schedule from early morning to late evening, the students had very little time off. The same went for the teachers. Ranloo looked forward to teaching. It was something he'd always enjoyed. Master Caelem gave the elves some time to rest and eat before introducing them to their classes.
Dylnan took the time off to scold Ranloo for his disobedience until he thought he'd be reduced to cinders. Lindhinin gave him sympathetic looks but stayed out of it. Shaken, but understanding the goodwill behind the scolding, Ranloo still entered the class half an hour later with an enthusiastic smile on his face. Ready to show the young humans how to handle a bow, track, and ride as a true ranger.
The following weeks passed quickly. Ranloo had no time for mischief or adventures into the city itself. Dylnan and Master Caelem made sure of that. They spent one week practising in a small forest outside of Jaris. Ranloo loved getting off the school grounds and breathing fresh air again. The humans made good progress, but he winced at their loud passage through the underbrush.
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Their last week in Jaris, the elves were invited to a feast by the school. Ranloo happily agreed to come. Lindhinin and Dylnan were a bit more reserved about it. It wouldn't be like they were used to. Nor would it be at the school, but closer to the city centre, in a fine building they had rented for the event.
´Let's go!` Ranloo exclaimed in the evening. He didn't want to be late and the sun already hung low behind the houses, painting the cobbles in gleaming gold. Further down in the city, shadows already covered the streets fully.
Lidhinin laughed from his perch in one of the tall windows. ´Calm down, it won't start yet for a while, and it's not that far off.` He looked out at the darkening streets.
´No, he's right,` Dylnan said. ´It's better to get going while there's still some light left.`
Ranloo grinned. It wasn't too often Dylnan agreed with anything he said. ´So, what are we waiting for?` he asked, waiting impatiently by the door. They had bathed, washed their clothes, and packed everything for the next morning. There was nothing left to do but go.
Lindhinin and Dylnan got up and donned their coats and cloaks.
´Do you have your weapons?` Dylnan asked and indicated his sword.
They nodded.
´Good. You never know what you might encounter at night. We don't want to get robbed.`
´How likely are we to get robbed though?` Lindhinin asked. ´Nothing bad's happened. People seem nice. The worst that's happened was the guards when we entered, and that incident.`
Ranloo chuckled at the memory. ´It wasn't my fault.`
´Really?` Lindhinin smirked. ´You showed off, and Fawk went down trying to imitate you. It was totally your fault.`
Ranloo looked down, hiding his smile. ´I never told him to imitate me.`
Lindhinin raised an eyebrow. He turned to Dylnan. ´Anyway, I don't feel unsafe here. Is the risk of getting robbed really as great as it's said?`
Dylnan shrugged. ´I don't know.` He closed and locked the door. ´But I don't want to take unnecessary risks. People die every day here.`
´You're such worry-pants!` Ranloo chided. ´We're going to have a nice feast, and tomorrow we're going home. It'll be fine,` he laughed.
´Worry-pants?` Lindhinin chuckled.
Ranloo waved it off and grinned. He liked Jaris, he thought with a pang of guilt as a mental image of Minira came to him. It was smelly and it was big. A labyrinth of streets and alleys, houses, bridges, and walls. But also intriguing, fantastical, and mysterious. And dangerous. The thought made his heart beat a little faster. It had everything, unlike the calm elven cities. And here in the nice parts, the street-lamps were lit every evening by light-runners, young men and women running with torches, keeping it bright and safe. At least that was the idea. He liked observing it from the windows in the evening. Seeing light after light spring up between the dark silhouettes of the houses.
The three elves walked towards the centre, steadily heading downhill. Guards patrolled the area frequently, and they relaxed after meeting a group.
Ranloo strolled at the back and kept turning around, looking at everything. Especially when they reached the temple street, he was held up by the beautiful buildings, many lights, fresh whiffs of incense, and varying degrees of decorated temple grounds.
A temple of Eldon, the sun god, stood tall and golden in the centre, lit by hundreds of candles, torches, and lanterns. Ranloo gazed admiringly at the fiery lights, almost hypnotized by their flickering beauty. At the gate, two Eldon paladins in golden armour with swords and pikes, watched everyone passing by carefully.
Further ahead stood a smaller temple with whitewashed smooth walls and windows inlaid with purple glass. A big eye-shaped window adorned the front. The open eye was engraved on the doors as well. Ranloo recognized the symbol as that of the God of Magic, Im, the favoured deity of the elven Prince himself. The temple garden was much smaller and plainer, but still beautiful. Pale magic lights glowed on poles, lighting the white gravel path leading to the front doors. There were no guards here.
They passed many temples but Ranloo didn't see any to the nature goddess, Mizar. He wondered why. Surely some humans cared about the natural world? It annoyed him. The huge city even had rangers, why not a nature temple? Maybe he had just missed it in the dark? He looked around more carefully.
´Are you coming? Lindhinin called from far ahead.
Disappointed, Ranloo ran to catch up with the others.
´Don't hang back like that, Ranloo,` Dylnan said as he rejoined them. ´We don't want to lose you.`
Ranloo smiled. ´I was just looking at the temples. They're beautiful.` He glanced back for a last view.
´Yes, but not as beautiful as the temples at home.` Lindhinin smiled wistfully.
Ranloo wasn't sure he agreed. Sure, the style of the temples here differed from the flowing soft lines of the elven buildings, and if you liked that style, these would seem harsh and sharp. But he found the human architecture very appealing and intricate, and more varied. Each temple had its own particular style.
They moved on, and the first stars twinkled in the dark blue sky before they met the first light-runner. Ahead of them, the lanterns gave off welcoming light, creating little pools of gold in the street. However, the shadows in between seemed all the darker for it.
´I think that's where we're going,` Dylnan suddenly spoke up and pointed to a building some way off, right by a small stone bridge that arched over the river further down.
The large stone building displayed a high pointed roof of red tiles, and light poured out from its many windows, bright in the gloom.
As Ranloo watched it, he became aware of a sound behind them and turned around. The light-runner had already disappeared and he didn't see anyone else. He shrugged. Maybe an animal? He turned back to the others. They had moved ahead again so he ran to catch up. There was a strange echo to his steps and he halted again. The echo stopped a fraction of a second after he did. He stood absolutely still and listened, straining his eyes to see anything in the many dark shadows. Nothing. He felt watched.
´What are you doing now?` Lindhinin called. ´Watching the birds?`
Ranloo glanced up. There were no birds on the roofs. ´No, nothing,` he called back. ´Just imagining things.` A small laugh escaped him as he turned back to his friends again.
Stupid. He wasn't used to the big city was all. He caught up to Dylnan and Lindhinin a moment later, still convinced something watched him. A slight shiver ran up his spine, but he shook the feeling off. It was nothing. Lindhinin laughed at Ranloo's unease.
They came to the big doors of the house and knocked. Master Caelem Step opened and the elves were greeted by many voices and laughter.
´Come in! Join us.`
In the warmth and light, with glasses of fine wine in their hands and surrounded by friends, Ranloo forgot all about the sounds and laughed and talked with the humans. Lindhinin, and even Dylnan, seemed able to enjoy the festivities too. Bards played and sang in a corner of the big parlour, giving it all a festive touch. Not as clear and beautiful as elven music, but happy and with a good beat. Ranloo found himself wholeheartedly enjoying the party. It didn't require the same tactics and etiquette as an elven feast did. He could be himself, having fun and drinking wine. He fit right in, and the humans loved him for it.
´You're not as stuck up as some other elves we've met,` his students told him, smiling and winking.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Outside, in the dark, eyes watched through the windows. Unseen, unnoticed, waiting. Patience is nothing when you have eternity. The desert-elf in the house was the centre of everyone's attention, he didn't notice anything. He fit right in. He was perfect...