It was dark. Something moved. He couldn’t tell what it was. All he could hear was noise, like a big crowd surrounding him, or perhaps a hungry rat gnawing through his clothes for food. Images of home trickled into his consciousness. Familiar faces slowly faded into view.
Old Barnum was sitting on the outer wall of the village, taking a break from his early morning patrol. The old man wiped his face with one sleeve.
Nava ran up to Kalos while Barnum simply stared. She said something, but Kalos couldn’t hear her voice. She eagerly awaited his response. He tried to speak to her, but nothing came out. He tried harder, achieving only a whisper. He was frustrated. Nava’s face grew puzzled. She couldn’t understand him either.
Pain shot through his skull, causing him to wince. Nava placed her soft fingers upon his forehead. Strangely, they felt wet and cold. Her face saddened. She wrapped her arms around her torso as if she had suddenly gotten sick to her stomach. She stumbled back a few steps then quickly ran off toward the village while covering her mouth with one hand like she was sick, or perhaps stricken with grief. He couldn’t tell which.
Kalos tried to reach out to her, but she was gone. He felt angry. He didn’t know why he couldn’t follow or even speak to her. He was frozen there in his tracks. Barnum simply stood up and walked away, continuing his patrol.
A wave of vertigo hit him. The world shifted under his feet like a light raft on open water. He clasped his stomach with one hand, trying not to give in to the uncomfortable sensation rolling up from his gut. The world started spinning faster.
His eyes snapped open. It was dark. His ears were screaming. The ringing faded to a tolerable level after several seconds. He was finally able to focus again. He began taking in the details around him. The ground was chilly and hard. The wall in front of him seemed familiar. His lungs hurt. His head hurt. Everything hurt.
With a groan he pushed away from the ground, sitting upright from his elbows. The world looked different from down there. He struggled to rub his eyes, but his muscles were stiff. It wasn’t easy to move at all.
Kalos reached around to the back of his head and winced in pain. At least it felt warm to the touch, unlike the rest of his body, but it was still wet. At least his head was only bleeding a little, now.
“If I ever see her again…” His voice trailed off with the realization that he might not get the chance to see anyone at all ever again if he stayed there much longer. Instead of growing even angrier, he felt a tinge of sadness, then growled at himself, “I’m such an idiot!”
Kalos quickly tried to cover his mouth as his stomach lurched, but it was no use to try and stop what erupted from within. He placed one hand on the icy street below and leaned forward onto his knees while his body knotted-up from within.
Whatever was left of dinner and the bottle of Green Fairy he’d purchased from the merchant came spewing out of his mouth all at once. Fortunately it only took one, long, painful convulsion for his body to rid itself of the toxic cocktail inside.
Kalos fell back away from the mess, and stared up at the starry sky to settle his nerves. He was convinced that he couldn’t possibly feel any worse than he had only a moment ago. It helped a little. Everything that happened since his arrival in Port Blefcynn started flooding his mind.
The boy plopped his butt on the cold stone with his legs propped on his feet, hung his head between his knees, and sobbed harder than he had in years. His tears were salty, almost as much so as the snot. His head was pounding again. The scent of his own vomit made him feel all-the-more pathetic and alone.
After several minutes of counting whatever pebbles he could see through the dim reflection of a nearby torch between his legs, he slowly glanced at his toes. The girl had not only stolen his money, but his jerkin, his boots, trousers, and anything else that might be remotely valuable as well.
All he had left was a pair of thin underpants and the baggy, white, sweat-stained shirt he had been wearing for days drooping lazily over his lean frame. Suddenly the bracelet that was tied to his wrist shifted, drawing his gaze. He was surprised, but slightly relieved to see that the Frenlan was still there, too. After watching it for several seconds, he chuckled.
“May it keep you safe,” his voice strengthened as he remembered her words, “ and guide your feet...” His chortle changed to a deep laugh as he wiggled his toes, driving the irony home, “to the best path, every time.” He grabbed his stomach with both hands as convulsions of a different sort shook his body. His face grew several shades redder before his lungs finally gave out from laughing too hard for far too long.
Finally, he drew a long, deep breath and slouched over on one hand pressed against the street, allowing the complex, uncomfortable emotional shift from total dejection to rising elation to spread through him entirely.
He felt so miserable, yet he couldn’t help but laugh at his situation in light of Nava’s words.
“Da’s probably worried sick about me,” he muttered.
His own words unexpectedly dealt a sinister blow to his morale. After forgetting that he needed air one last time, he gently rubbed his temples and sighed.
“Yeah, right… ‘Da.’ ” Kalos almost wanted to curl back into a ball and lay beside his vomit a while longer when a deep, cold chill ran down his spine, bringing him back to his senses straightaway.
He sneezed so hard that his lungs and stomach nearly collided into each other from the inside. His brain slammed into the back of his skull, filling his vision with strange lights of every shape and color imaginable. He knew he couldn’t stay a minute longer without risking his life to the elements.
A pathetic groan escaped his lips as he weakly heaved himself up onto his feet. Vigorously rubbing the backs of his arms for heat, he finally started his long, draining hike back to the inn.
#
“Good heav’ns, boy. What’re ya doin walkin’roun the city in not but your skinnies?” The large, jovial woman had been cleaning the counters surrounding the massive keg in the middle of the room when he reached the Pearl Dancer’s Inn.
The main area was a reception hall, mess hall, and tavern all wrapped in one throughout the entirety of the bottom floor. The second and third floors temporarily housed visitors in one of several sleeping rooms, each equipped with its own bed, stool, and a few basic pieces of furniture selected to meet only the minimum basic needs of their guests. The rooms were quite simple, but much warmer than it was outside. Each one had a small duct expertly built into the wall that led all the way down to one of two massive fire pits situated at opposite ends of the main floor which allowed enough heat through to keep all the rooms toasty while expelling the smoke through chimneys in the roof.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
The woman rushed over to Kalos, snatching an old, wool blanket from under the counter, and quickly threw it over his shoulders before rubbing his arms through the cloth with more vigor than he expected. Despite the rough wool scratching up his arms from the pressure she was exerting, he didn’t realize how cold he actually was until that very moment. He immediately started shivering underneath.
“Dat night breeze’ll make a frightly mess of ya in no time! Ya’ave a room?” Kalos was finding it difficult to speak, but managed to nod his head in affirmation. A few of the tenants who hadn’t already fallen asleep with stomachs full of ale and fresh food were watching his ordeal unfold from their respective locations throughout the room. Soon they started talking amongst themselves again, no longer interested in him at all as color began flowing back into his pale cheeks. At least it was much quieter now with so few still active at such a late hour.
“Now’ya just sit’ere and wait. Not a shuffle, ya’hear?” She almost ran to the kitchen as he continued shivering, though less violently than before.
A moment later, his eyes fluttered back open as a loud clack echoed from a few inches in front of his face. He wasn't freezing to death, but was so tired that he couldn't even remember laying his head down. A large bowl of steaming hot soup had been placed right in front of his nose, causing his stomach to cramp with anticipation.
“Lad, you need’ta eat dis’n get some warmth in yer bones. Sleep'll come soon enough.” The hard stare she gave was all the motivation he needed. Slowly, he reached over and took a bite, trying not to spill any on the table. It tasted even more delicious than it smelled.
Kalos had finished about half of the soup when he looked up to see Grimm slowly making his way downstairs. The man looked pasty and exhausted. Each step he took was slow and calculated so he wouldn't trip and fall over a careless misstep. He looked back at his soup and took a long, slow breath to calm his nerves before taking another bite. He wasn’t sure what would happen next or what to think. He had grievously disrespected his dad, but then the man wasn’t actually his father at all.
“I’m not sure how to put this,” Grimm’s struggle was physically obvious as he tried to figure out exactly what to say next before continuing, “I’ve been your father since you were barely able to run. To me, you’re still my son, and you always will be.”
Kalos watched while Grimm placed his hands on the back of the chair directly across from him like it might somehow help support him while he struggled to balance the most unbearably heavy burden on his shoulders imaginable.
“...And I want you to know that I will be your father as long as I have breath in my lungs..."
Grimm pressed on with great resolve, "When you were little..."
Kalos gently interrupted him, “It’s okay... I do want to hear everything, but, not tonight, please.”
Grimm paused to think before speaking again, “Very well. Perhaps we’ll find a better time tomorrow. I’m sure you’re exhausted.”
Kalos watched him slide the chair back and take a seat before taking a few more sips of his meaty broth.
“What happened to your clothes?” Grimm sounded vaguely disappointed, as a father should when something strange happens to his son without his knowledge.
“I met a girl over a game of Sailor’s Dice. It didn’t end well.” He didn’t want to provide more details than that. In reality, Kalos wasn’t trying to crack a joke, but his melancholy tone only seemed to make the impact of his words more profoundly comical than he could’ve expected. Grimm sat frozen for several seconds, carefully trying to judge the nature of Kalos’ response, until he couldn’t maintain his composure any longer. His stern expression fell to pieces as he let loose a wave of laughter that shook him to his core. The man’s response overpowered every awkward emotion in the air and spilled over onto Kalos, who couldn’t help but laugh hard and long as well, but under his breath entirely when he realized just how hilarious his confession sounded.
#
By the time Kalos finished his meal, the two were in much better spirits despite everything that’d happened.
“We should get some rest. I don’t know what all has transpired to bring us here, exactly, but I imagine we won’t be feeling very well in the morning if we don't."
Kalos didn’t need to hear any more reason than that before following Grimm all the way to their room.
“Go ahead and lay down. I need to make a few quick preparations for tomorrow. I think we'll be leaving a little later in the morning to try to get some extra sleep.”
“Alright,” Kalos replied without a hint of objection at all. He had already climbed under the soft fabrics spread across his bed without even undressing first as Grimm stepped over to a table sitting near the window. It was sturdy and well-built, but had no adornments whatsoever, much like the rest of the furniture.
Kalos watched Grimm begin organizing a few nondescript items that'd been placed on the table at some point, likely right after he had paid for the room. The older man counted a few things before carefully assessing them one by one with his critical gaze. Before he had even considered the third of several items present, Kalos had already fallen fast asleep.
#
“Kalos, are you ok!?” Nava’s concerned face peered down at him for a few seconds before she kneeled right next him.
“What do you mean?”
Kalos sat upright, realizing that he’d been lying on a patch of thick grass under a large shade tree. Looking around, he quickly recognized where they were, outside Ark in the middle of a crop field brimming with fresh wheat.
“You fell from up there.” She glanced up at the tree above.
“Yeah, I guess. I mean, I feel okay, though.” Confusion filled his mind. Being shoved into a scenario with no memory about what happened was an odd experience. It was like he had mentally accept what was happening and flowed right into his daily persona, but without remembering, understanding, or questioning in of it.
“Why wouldn’t you talk to me earlier?” Nava asked as a thin stream of water suddenly glistened down her cheeks.
“I was trying to, Nava, but I couldn’t hear you…”
“I understand if you don’t want to talk to me anymore, I guess...” She looked down with intense sadness in her eyes.
Everything felt wrong. It was like she was ignoring and holding a deep, important conversation with him at the same time.
“Nava, that’s not true at all. I miss you so much.” He lightly bit the inside of his lip when he realized what he had said.
Suddenly her eyes snapped to his as she leaned back, her expression instantly darkening into a sinister smile. All he could see was hatred, now.
“Yeah, right. You don’t even have the Frenlan I gave you, anymore.”
Kalos winced, quickly looking down at his wrist. It wasn’t there, just as she had said.
“I had it on earlier...” He had never felt so attacked and detested by her as he did in that moment. Everything seemed wrong. Something snapped inside of him. He quickly jumped to his feet and stared at her with angry eyes.
“Why are you acting this way? I haven’t done anything to you. And I do still have that Frenlan you gave me! Somewhere around here...” He began looking down at the grass and looking all around to see where it might have fallen.
The mood shifted as she slowly stood to her feet and looked deep into his eyes, apparently shaken by his words before responding, “I miss you too, ya know. Why did you leave me, anyway?” She slowly crossed her arms while a strange chemistry reaction occurred between them in that awkward moment.
Kalos was completely caught off-guard by her demeanor and rapidly shifting emotions, but still managed to recover, “I had to go... You know I’ve always been drawn to travel and see the world. It's like someone familiar has been calling me to do it my whole life...”
“Kalos, LOOK OUT!”
As soon as he looked over his shoulder, she leapt forward and shoved him aside before something slammed heavily into the ground right next to them, completely enveloping her with fire in a split-second as she reached out of the flames for him. Kalos’ heart was pounding as he shot upright in bed. He was wide-awake now. Fear and adrenaline surged through his veins. His mind struggled to make sense of what’d happened. Thick, smelly dust blew in through his window. His ears were ringing again, but with a completely different tone than when he woke up on the street a while earlier. Grimm was nowhere to be seen. Something suddenly exploded nearby, sending splinters and debris straight up into the air in all directions, and causing the building to shudder all around him. Though he couldn't hear anything at all for several seconds, his mind was clear as crystal as a result of the massive adrenaline still flooding his body.
“What was that!?”
©2024, K. M. Plum, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED