Stepping out onto the street brought with it the sour smell of pack animals, their sweat mixing with the fine dust tracked through the streets. Citta stepped towards the busy road and Emily spotted a carriage waiting for them at the curb of the street. The vehicle was made almost entirely of metal, with clear indentations and simple ribbons of red coming off it. A human driver sat at the top of it and tipped his wide-brimmed hat as they approached.
The door opened on its own for Citta and the large bear-like woman climbed gracefully into the carriage. After which she turned and looked at Emily.
“Please get in, we’ll arrive at my Master's tower soon, he wants to meet you before anything else happens,” Citta said as she began climbing into the carriage.
Emily moved to the door but made no move to enter the carriage.
“Oh, well unless you can make a compelling case I’m not all that interested in going with you my friend. You have given me no reason to trust you as of yet. You haven't even told me why you want to meet your Master. Would you operate without any information, if I offer you the same parameters?”
Citta’s eyes widened at this and she held up her hands.
“Oh, you have nothing to worry about from me or my Master, we just happened to have our longsight aimed at the battlefield when you came out of the shroud matrix and displayed a proficient level of blood magic. Now, we thought you might have some insight into its workings and we were hoping to get your input on a particular experiment we’ve been running recently, but if you are not interested you are free to go.”
Emily searched the woman's face but didn’t see a hint of a lie, she was about to take a step back from the carriage when Citta continued.
“However, I would say that there is a high possibility others also saw your little display earlier. If you don’t come with me the likelihood you will be pestered later down the line is quite high.”
Emily slowed and placed her arms on either side of the door frame.
“So you’re saying if I come with you they won’t bother me?”
“Exactly”
Emily glanced into the carriage and saw that it was furnished with the most beautiful-looking cloth and ornaments. She wanted to ask the woman if she could help her find Alex but decided not to give away all her cards just yet.
“And if I try to leave you won’t stop me?”
Citta resembled a contented cat savoring a fresh bowl of cream.
“Certainly not. All we want is to speak to you and perhaps offer a deal. My Master is well connected in Lorthil so we can offer a good deal in this city.”
Emily hummed to herself, she saw no reason not to check things out and brought one foot up onto the carriage to pull herself in.
“Alright, I’ll hear you out, but just so you know, I’m not agreeing to anything yet.”
“Certainly so, contracts cannot be made with something as fickle as words.”
Citta smiled happily to herself, flicking her wrist and causing the door to slam shut behind Emily, sealing them off from the world outside.
Cupcake would have to run next to the carriage but their speed was easy for her to match.
The carriage pulling off made Emily stumble, so she plopped herself down on the opposite bench
Emily quickly sank into what was possibly the comfiest cushion she’d encountered since arriving in this world, groaning softly as it molded perfectly to her form.
Letting out a sigh, Emily glanced across the cabin at the bear woman.
“If this is rude, call me out on it, but what race are you?” Emily asked.
Citta’s polite smile never left her face as she tapped a small compartment on the side and produced a small box of what looked like biscuits.
“Oh, not at all. My Master and I are Silvaren. We are a long-lived race that inhabits the forests down south, but I wanted to further my education so I found myself in this city twenty years ago.”
Emily hummed softly as she turned to gaze out the small window on the side of the carriage. Cupcake trotted alongside, but her attention was drawn to the bustling streets teeming with life. The scene reminded her of Targin’s Keep, though there was an unusual energy to the people here.
Unlike the keep, the citizens carried a manic light in their eyes, an edge to their hurried movements. It was hard to pinpoint, but their fervent activity felt more desperate than determined, almost admirable if not for the faint, acrid undercurrent of fear lingering in the air.
Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
Shifting her focus, Emily took in the natural beauty of the city itself. While vegetation was sparse, the rigid architecture compensated, showcasing intricate designs and sharp, purposeful lines. Each shop and structure seemed to weave seamlessly into the next, forming distinct districts where life bustled on.
Children milled about the streets in matching uniforms, their chatter suggesting they’d just been released from school. The sight added a semblance of normalcy to the otherwise intense atmosphere.
The carriage continued its steady progress until it arrived at an enormous elevator structure. Its platform was wide enough to accommodate beasts and carriages, and though its initial ascent was slow, Emily noted the impressive speed it achieved once fully in motion, lifting its passengers out of the lower levels and beyond.
Emily watched them rise out of the ravine and then beyond that, as she noticed they were heading towards the campus filled with structures.
When they were deposited on the upper level, Emily felt as though they had stepped into a quaint, sleepy village.
The quiet streets were lined with uneven cobblestones that hinted at their age, leading to ancient towers cloaked in moss and ivy. Despite the overgrowth, the buildings retained a well-maintained appearance, their charm blending history and care seamlessly.
They passed under the shadows of towers, each more grandiose than the last, as though they were competing for the skyline.
Minutes passed and Emily was just starting to get bored of the scenery when the carriage came to a complete stop outside a particular tower.
Seeing this Emily grabbed two more of the apricot-flavored biscuits and stepped out of the carriage, stretching as she did so.
The tower before them stood as a flawless cylinder of black marble, its surface adorned with striking veins of gold that ran through it like rivers of molten light.
At this distance, Emily could see that the structure was quite thick and stretched up to at least ten stories.
“Miss Emily, a word,” Citta said as she smiled up at the tower.
“My Master has had a long life and over that time he has served as a Custodian and even a Chancellor but he hates well people who try to flatter him. If you want to do anything make sure it is on your own merit, okay?”
Emily glanced at the woman and shrugged.
“Got it, don’t coddle his ego, I wasn’t going to do that anyway.”
Citta looked worriedly at Emily and then cleared her throat.
“Right, well, please come this way.”
Emily followed the silvaren to the tower. At first, Emily thought that the door was around the back because she saw no obvious entrance, but as they got near Citta clicked her fingers and the stone wall in front of them rearranged itself into an open doorway.
Emily was surprised at that, but she did vaguely remember Alex saying something about a Mage’s tower being hard to get into.
The entrance was well light and had a welcoming feel to it, so as Citta entered, Emily ducked into the mouth of this tower.
As she crossed the threshold a severe case of vertigo accosted her, but she caught herself on the threshold.
The first thing she noticed was the warm chamber with wooden walls fashioned in the theme of a log cabin. The next was the ridiculous amount of red source in this place.
Normally, Emily could only see grey source, and that was only if she focused, but right now the flitting particles of red danced in front of her eyes like fireworks.
Stepping inside felt like she was coming home to a warm nest. Something in her blood seemed to resonate with this place and its energy. In fact, the temperature seemed just right for her new body and caused the knots in her shoulders to unwind from weeks out in the wilds.
Citta glanced back and grimaced.
“Sorry about the heat, Master Ariandel said it's good for the bones.”
Emily waved her off as she stepped into the room, and was not at all surprised when she looked back and the entrance they had come through had vanished.
A staircase in the corner of the room creaked and down came a silvaren with what was probably once black fur. But now age had dulled it to a mix of dark browns and grays.
He had a book open in front of him and when he spotted them a gentle smile appeared on his face.
“Ah, Citta my girl. Is this our guest? Quiet young isn’t she.”
Citta bowed and Emily got the feeling of a grandfather from the bea-like individual. She could also feel that he was on par with Kael at the very least. Yet that danger she usually felt when he was around was nowhere to be seen in front of this silvaren.
“Hello there, good to meet you. I hear you have an offer for me.” Emily started.
The silvaren chuckled heartily to himself.
“What’s the rush, how about we go to the roof for some tea.”
Emily was about to open her mouth to decline when he flicked his paws and a large amount of red source moved around them.
The next she realized the cityscape splayed out below them, visible only through a netting of plants and vines growing in pots around the rooftop. A black stone gazebo hung overhead and even though they were once more outside, Emily could still feel the warmth of the tower rising up from below them.
Emily’s eyes widened and she glanced around. She hadn’t expected such a causal display of strength. She’d never confirmed if teleportation was possible, but if it was she would have thought spatial movement would be the domain of yellow source, not red.
The Master had gone to sit down and Citta had moved to stand behind him like a faithful servant.
“Come now, don’t stand gawking all day youngling, come sit, tell me your name.”
Emily blinked at the man, quickly masking her surprise. She seated herself opposite the silvaren, easing into a finely crafted wrought-iron chair.
“You may call me Emily, and am I to assume you are Ariandel”
The silvaren’s face flashed a toothy smile, and even at his age they didn’t look like they’d lost an ounce of their gleam
“You may call me that, yes,” he said as he began pouring a fruity tea from a silver teapot. His larger fingers were ever so dexterous.
“Right well, Miss Citta told me you had a deal to offer me and I honestly only came because I think we can be of use to one another. So let's not beat around the bush, what do you want.”
Ariandel hummed to himself as he placed a delicate-looking teacup down in front of Emily and began pouring his own.
“Interesting dialect you have there. But more than that is how you talk. I’ve never heard an idiom like that before, so it stands to reason you are not from here. Or at least not the north. I did a bit of traveling in my younger days and unless it's a more recent phrase, I can’t say I’m familiar. Though your meaning did come through…” he stopped to take his first sip of tea, as he was saying all this.
“... but as you will learn I’m an old soul and sometimes these things can’t be pushed. Out of interest would your current hastiness have anything to do with the contract stamped into your soul, perhaps,” he said as he drew the teacup back to his large lips.
Blood points: 299