Shaden had been skeptical when Eshel had blabbered to him about the wonderful towers, castles, and tall buildings that stood in the capital city of Antafar. Clearly, she had been exaggerating, because there was no way a desert civilization could build something as tall as a hundred tents, stacked on top of each other.’ All around was sand, and even if the people of the city had found boulders to work with, he doubted it would be strong enough to support any buildings taller than three stories.
It would be possible if the structure was in the shape of a pyramid, but towers? Slender buildings inside the city? Perhaps her perception had been warped since she’d visited Antafar when she was younger. But Eshel had been thoroughly convinced, telling him to wait and watch.
He’d waited for three days. And now, he could see something in the distance growing larger and larger as they approached. His eyes told him that it was a gate, but the people passing through looked like—ants?
Right. Naerathim had been surrounded by colossal walls that had touched the clouds. That place had been oozing with mana and magic. But here? Shaden didn’t feel anything special. As they neared the entrance, he saw that it was larger than he’d anticipated, all the while Eshel shook his shoulder, telling him to look.
“See? Large gates,” she said proudly.
Okay. So his doubts had been wrong. If his memory of history had it, the walls were likely made out of limestone bricks. He narrowed his eyes. He didn’t see any slits. Had they been smoothed out with mortar?
“It’s nothing like you’ve ever seen before, no?” Eshel grinned. “You can be more amazed.”
“Yeah,” he told her flatly. He was more interested in looking at the giant arch they were passing beneath. There were murals carved and painted into the walls, and while the color had faded, it was still beautiful to look at. He wondered how the builders had managed to reach that high up.
Right. This was a fantasy world.
But there wasn’t as much mana in the area as there had been in the elven cities or Saiton. If anything, the air of the capital felt average.
Yet the city was nothing to scoff at. His doubts were crushed again when he saw a giant obelisk at the edge of an extensive plaza, dwarfing the people that walked before it. There was no way limestone could be built so high.
Was there wood inside of the structures? Probably not—the only trees around looked horribly suited for building. How about metal? That didn’t make sense either—metal was rare in the desert. There was a reason why arrowheads were crafted from either stone or bone.
“See? You like it, don’t you?” Eshel teased with a toothy grin. “I told you you would.”
“I never said I wouldn’t,” he muttered. “But how is everything so big? Were they built from magic?”
She turned around and looked at him funnily. “No, workers built them a long time ago.”
“Right. And the buildings are made out of—”
“Rock,” she finished.
“Rock,” he repeated.
While their caravan passed through the streets into the deeper parts of the city, Shaden spotted a series of carts filled with barrels that leaked grey dust. It struck him strange that anyone would transport such large quantities of dust, so he tapped on Eshel’s shoulder and asked.
“What do you mean, gunpowder? That’s volcanic ash, silly. It’s used for many things.”
“There are volcanoes around here?”
“No, dummy. It’s brought from Taash.”
“To the east?”
“Yes. You’re asking some weird questions.”
It sucked that he didn’t know as much as he should have. Had Eilae been there with him, she would have explained everything perfectly. She’d always stressed the importance of information, and now, he could see why. Not knowing things was making him feel stupid.
At least by keeping his mouth shut, he wouldn’t embarrass himself any further.
They eventually reached an enclosed portion of the city where the buildings were lower than usual, but the streets had opened into broad areas where the sheep and cattle they’d brought could stay. While the servants organized everything, Shaden followed Eshel and Keyga into the long buildings and found their rooms on the second floor where they placed their belongings down.
Not that he had any items he’d brought with him. He was going to lie down and cool his head for a little when Grak signaled to him, telling him to come over right away. It was an emergency. So jumping out of the window and landing with a strong thud, he jumped over the fences and made his way to where his wyvern was—locked inside of the same cart it’d come in. It flapped its wings when it saw him and hissed.
“Sorry, sorry,” Shaden apologized, unlocking the cage. The wyvern crawled out and stretched its wings and tail, doing a great cry into the air.
“No!” Shaden whispered, looking around. It was good that the whole area belonged to the Jakhar Kishaks because people would have heard the piercing cry.
Grak blinked and put his head down. It sniffed.
“You need to stay quiet if you want to stay,” Shaden told the wyvern with a sigh. “The people from the capital won’t like you being here.”
“Grrrarrrk?”
“Yeah, sorry. I’ll ask. But stay put until then.”
“Grarrrk…”
“Hey, I’ll give you a massage if you feel so stiff.”
Using his mana hands, Shaden gently kneaded the wyvern’s wings, back, tail, and limbs, changing positions according to the wyvern’s wishes. He even used supportive healing magic on the beast so its sores would go away, making sure that his bond would feel comfortable enough to stay on the ground for a while longer.
“Once we go to the Wall—if we do—you’ll be able to fly,” he promised. “Until then, we can focus on circulating.”
With his mana capacity, he could teach the wyvern how to circulate from his room. In fact, he’d kept his connection with Grak all the way through the trip. The wyvern had been lazy to follow at first, but after Shaden’s constant urging, it had shown interest.
Currently, it had barely touched the mana within its body. Eshon had been right—Shaden couldn’t force his bond to learn. While he’d thought about using fear to motivate the beast, it hadn’t seemed right, and he had a lot of time in his hands.
“Don’t you want to be the strongest wyvern?” Shaden asked the wyvern. It tilted its head and blinked. So no, it was content on keeping its belly full.
While Shaden had thought about running his mana through Grak to speed up the process, he’d rejected the idea after testing it out on a sand rat. The animal had become paralyzed after Shaden had filled its body with mana, only moving after Shaden had retracted his power. It wouldn’t work unless he really knew what he was doing. As convenient as his powers were, he was stuck when it came to manipulating the mana of others. No; Grak had to learn by himself. Shaden would simply set an example for him.
“I really want to see you become stronger,” he told the wyvern, petting its head. It yawned in response and put its head on the ground to sleep.
“If you were going to sleep anyway—actually, never mind,” Shaden said, rolling his eyes.
At least the walls and the buildings provided them with shade from the sun. It was also cooler in the city, and not just because of the shade. The air felt more humid, and the wind that kept blowing through the streets kept the heat from becoming too unbearable.
There was also the slight smell of the ocean drifting around. They were inside of a coastal city, after all. Antafar was a thriving city of trade, and its main form of transporting goods was through boats. He’d just not seen the ocean because they’d come in through the western gate, missing the shore entirely.
It’d be great if they could go for a swim someday. It had been years since he’d seen a beach before—not once as Shaden. The Hyla River had been massive, but it couldn’t be compared to an ocean.
“Shaden!” someone called, their voice ringing through the vicinity. “Where are you!”
“Here!” Shaden called back. Within a few light steps, he’d jumped to the top of a building to find the person who’d called him. It was Sina, and her head was poking out of the window.
“What are you doing up there!” she shouted, spotting him. “Come inside! We need to greet the elders!”
“I’m coming!”
He jumped down to the open yard, using his mana hands to soften the fall while Eshel screamed in horror as she covered her eyes. Her reaction made him chuckle a bit, and he took the moment to quickly reach the building and climb into the window, causing Eshel to scream again in surprise.
“Shaden!” she gasped. “Your legs! How?”
“Magic,” Shaden casually replied, twirling a finger. “Pretty cool, right?”
“I mean—please don’t do that again,” she groaned, putting a hand on her face. “If you get hurt, it’ll be terrible.”
“I can heal myself,” he shrugged. He held back a laugh when Eshel scowled, sighing deeply.
“Argh, children!” she muttered silently, turning around. “Go to your room and change into the clothes the servants have prepared. I will come to pick you up with Keyga once you are done. Please, please tell me if you decide to go somewhere.”
“I will,” he lied. It wasn’t like anyone would look for him during the night. How could he miss out on jumping across the city’s buildings when the moon was up?
After he changed into white, loose clothing with simple golden threading on the sleeves, he waited until Eshel and Keyga came to him and followed them downstairs, across the hall, across a street, and into a larger, fancier building with more markings on the walls. Unlike the square structure they were in before, this one looked more like a proper mansion, with slanted walls, a triangular, orange roof, and stairs that seem to lead all over the building.
They entered, and the servants inside led them to an inner room where the smell of sweet incense was strong. Shaya had already arrived and was sitting before the veiled bed that concealed the people within. The oldest members of the Jakhar Kishak family. Eshel and Keyga’s grandparents, as well as Shaya’s.
The three of them sat down next to Shaya, cross-legged. Only then did Shaya begin to speak.
“We have arrived,” she told them, “and today, your two youngest grandchildren have also come.”
“Have they?” said a firm but gentle feminine voice from the bed. “I am glad. Come where I can see you and kiss you.”
Keyga stirred in his seat, but his sister held out a hand. “Before that,” Shaya interjected, “we also have an important guest. Here is Shaden Limen, the Heir of Skotos. He has come to our family to learn of our arts.”
“The Heir!” It was a man that spoke. His voice was raspy, but the volume was still enough to cover the whole room. “Why, it has been years! I never believed that I would see the next heir.”
The veil slowly drew back, revealing two wrinkled old people sitting on the bed supported by cushions. Their hair was completely gray, but despite how old they looked, they moved like they were half their age.
“Welcome!” Eshel’s grandfather said, bowing from where he was. “You must excuse us for not getting up. We are old, and our bones are frail.”
“Please, treat me like your grandchildren,” Shaden pleaded, scratching his cheek. “I’m still a child.”
“That would delight these old bones! What say you, Dear?”
“Another grandchild would be a blessing to our family,” the old woman chuckled. “Then you must call us Gramps and Granny.”
Shaden nodded. “Thank you...Granny?”
The two burst out giggling, but it wasn’t the type that made him feel embarrassed. “Then, new grandson,” Gramps said, “come offer your grandparents a hug.”
The smell of old people was strong beyond the curtains, but he leaned forward and gave them each a hug, and they patted his back strongly in response.
Then Shaden spotted the giant spiders spinning web behind them. His heart did a nosedive, but he was able to retreat back to the floor.
Next, it was Keyga’s turn to hug his grandparents. He looked annoyed for some reason, but his face bloomed when he fell into his grandparents’ arms.
“Still the child, no?” Granny laughed, causing Keyga to pout.
“Yes, very much a child!” Gramps agreed, laughing. “My sweet little boy. Do you have any stories you want to tell me?”
“A lot!” Keyga stated, burying his face into the blankets.
“Keyga, Gramps and Granny are too old for your energy,” Eshel said, pulling her brother back. “They’re weak to sickness. What if they caught something you have? You’ve been playing with many animals lately.”
Keyga looked annoyed, but nodded and took his seat again. After Eshel had greeted her grandparents with short kisses on the cheek, the three of them went outside while Shaya remained to discuss matters for a while longer.
“That wasn’t fair,” Keyga muttered to his sister.
“What wasn’t?”
If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
“What you did.”
“What did I do?”
The boy scowled, running off to somewhere. Eshel clicked her tongue, crossing her arms. “What a child,” Shaden heard her mutter as they made their way out of the building.
“Now what?” he asked. “What’s the plan for the day?”
“We will need to wait until my sister finishes her arrangements,” Eshel said. “Maybe she will treat me as an adult and let us tour the city by ourselves—I don’t know. Is there anything you’d like to do?”
“What’s there in the city to see?”
“Oh, many things. The harbor is a great place to begin. The trade market there is wonderful. Perhaps the Royal Garden in front of the palace will interest you. It’s a beautiful place. And pearls! They create the most beautiful pearls here. You cannot mention Antafar without its pearls.”
They chat about the commodities the capital had to offer before Shaden remembered one important fact.
He hadn’t brought any money with him.
“I won’t be able to buy anything,” he told Eshel, “but I think it would be nice to look around.”
“No money? Didn’t you receive gifts for your birth—”
She stopped mid-sentence, paused her finger in the air, and put a hand to her chin while appearing to be thinking hard. She looked at him, and after he stared back, she slowly wiped her face and put on a weak smile.
“I completely forgot,” she said. “You did not receive a gift from us yet, no?”
“None of the other families gave me anything,” he said with a shrug. “Am I supposed to?”
“I mean—I was told that we would need to give you something to remember us by.”
His grandfather had mentioned that. “So?” he said expectantly. “Do I get something?”
“Well, the thing is...your gift was going to be an animal of your choice,” she slowly went on, “and you were meant to practice bonding with it, but...the wyvern happened.”
“Ah.”
“But I will get you another present, yes? Just don’t mention this to anyone else.”
“Why? Were you in charge of getting me something?” Shaden asked without much thought as a joke.
“I—err—um, no. I am being considerate,” she nervously answered, emitting a shaky laugh. “So, ahem, don’t worry about the money. We will go get you something.”
He raised an eyebrow, and she tried her best to ignore him, pursing her lips and fanning her face.
“It sure is hot today,” she said. “Let’s go get a drink while we wait.”
“You did forget, didn’t you?” Shaden asked innocently.
“Nonsense! Come on, too much sun is bad for your skin,” she replied, more firmly this time, but Shaden saw a bead of sweat roll down her cheek. The weather was hot, after all, but Shaden was doing fine because of his circulation. Still, shade and cold drinks were always welcome.
“Whatever you say,” he said, following her.
⤙ ◯ ⤚
It was as if he was inside of an antique museum. The sweet smell of wood and leather hung in the air like delicate perfume, dry and refreshing and cool as opposed to the air outside. He could feel mana running through parts of the walls, keeping everything within the building at an optimal temperature.
“Try not to break anything,” Eshel warned. “I only have enough money for one or two.”
After Shaya had completed sorting out everything with the elders, Eshel had rushed to her right away and asked for permission to tour the city. Her sister had told her to go, and Eshel had been in high spirits since then, telling him that he could choose whatever present he’d wanted. She’d ultimately brought him to the instrument shop, so it hadn’t mattered anyway.
Keyga was supposed to come with them, but the kid had refused to follow his sister, saying that he’d be happier to help the servants take care of the animals than to waste time looking at things he wouldn’t be able to buy. When she’d told him that she’d buy him a snack to eat, he’d rolled his eyes and left the room.
So, it was only the two of them at the store now, which had roughly taken an hour to find. It was a large store from an apparently prestigious company, but he didn’t care about the details. He was more interested in inspecting the rows and rows of musical instruments that lined the walls.
Surprisingly, the store’s owner was not tan-skinned. He was white with light eyes, though his clothes were those of the desert. He came over when Shaden was wondering what he would choose.
“Are you looking for something?” he asked, smiling. “It’s admirable to begin learning to play at a young age. We sell only the best in this store, and I’m sure you will find one to your liking. We have a broad collection.”
“Then, uh, drums?” Shaden joked, pointing to some.
“An excellent choice,” the man said. “They are easy to learn but hard to master.”
“Actually, I want something portable,” Shaden quickly said just as the man was about to go fetch one. “Something that will fit inside of a bag.”
“Of course. Might I recommend the woodwinds?”
“Like flutes?”
“An excellent choice,” the man agreed. “Please, follow me.”
He was taken to the part of the building where the instruments played with blowing were. They all varied in sizes—from a hand-sized whistle to a giant horn of bone as long as a man. But in the midst of all the trumpets, pipes, horns, and flutes, he saw a stick that caught his eye. It was crafted out of dark wood and was a little longer than his arm—a flute with seven holes.
“What about that one?” he asked, pointing towards it.
“You have a good eye,” the merchant told him, carefully taking it off of the wall.
“Can I hear what it sounds like?”
“Of course. Ritree! Come here!”
After his call, someone came to them, a younger man. “Show our customer how the flute sounds like,” he told him, and the younger man nodded, gently taking the flute. After cleaning his mouth of spit, the man began to play.
It was a beautiful sound, but not quite what Shaden liked. The pitch was too high, and there was a certain sharpness to it that he didn’t find attractive.
“Is there anything that sounds smoother?” he asked, looking at the shelves. “Something thicker that won’t break easily.”
“Of course.”
In a few quick motions, the assistant cleaned the flute with a clothed stick and returned the flute to the wall. The merchant looked around and retrieved two flutes, both thicker, one thicker than the other.
“These are slightly harder to play, but have the smoothness you wish for,” the merchant explained, handing the thinner one to his assistant, who began to play it. It was smoother, but now Shaden wanted something richer.
When the assistant played the second flute, Shaden knew that it was close to the sound he wanted. Yet, he wasn’t satisfied. He wanted something heavier. More filling, if that made sense.
“We do have what you ask for,” the merchant told him, “but for a beginner, I suggest these. The heavier ones are harder to blow, not to mention their increased weight. Your arms will grow tired from playing.”
“I want something that I can play for life,” Shaden insisted. “This might be the last instrument I’ll receive.”
“Very well.”
When the man placed the flute on his hands, he thought he knew what it was made out of instantly. He didn’t know of its name, but its heaviness was something he was very familiar with.
“Heavy, isn’t it?” the man said. “Are you still sure about using this one?”
“Yes,” Shaden insisted. “Could I hear what it sounds like?”
It was a beautiful sound, one that flowed more like water than wind. Shaden suspected that it would also be easier to play since it had five total holes rather than seven, which was perfect for him. The mouthpiece looked simple, with a slanted cut at the edge where the mouth was placed.
While the instrument was cleaned and packaged, the man explained to him that he should clean the instrument after every use, using oil once every week to make sure the wood didn’t dry out completely.
“Keep it in a cool place where the sun and moisture won’t touch it,” the merchant instructed. “Do not wash it with water. And please do not drop it. For the first few weeks, you must let the wood grow accustomed to you, so play it no more than an hour a day for the first week, two for the next, and so on until a month has passed. Then it will be completely yours to enjoy. The rest of the information will be included inside the box. If you would like to apply for lessons, simply tell us and we will make you an appointment.”
After Shaden called Eshel over to pay for the instrument (she was surprised after seeing the price but still paid anyways), he happily held the lacquered box in his hands and made their way back to their area.
Or they would have if Eshel hadn’t forgotten the way there.
“It’s okay,” she reassured in a not-so-assuring way, “we can find our way if we simply ask around.”
The only problem was that they had been wandering for nearly an hour.
“I think I know the way,” Shaden told Eshel since his connection with Grak was still active. He knew he was exhausting a lot of mana, but he wasn’t even close to feeling tired.
“What do you mean? It’s your first time here, no?”
“I’m bonded with the wyvern, and it’s telling me that he’s that way,” Shaden said, pointing west.
“That’s impossible. You can’t be bonded from such a distance. I’ll ask around, so simply stay by my side and don’t get lost, yes?”
Shaden sighed.
And pure luck had it that two hooded strangers ran past them along the way, after which Eshel began shouting and running after them, leaving him alone. They’d stolen the money she’d been carrying, and while Shaden could have caught them right away, he decided to follow the girl to see what would happen.
They knew the city much better than her, so it was only natural that she lost them. Eshel stomped the floor and pulled on her hair, shouting curses into the air while people passing by simply ignored her.
“You can’t mess with us and get away with it!” she screamed into the streets, her face dark with anger. But no one paid attention; no one cared. Only Shaden shook his head, sighing while he stood behind her.
“Shaden!” she suddenly exclaimed, as if realizing who she had left behind. But turning around and finding him just a few steps away from her, her face reddened with embarrassment and she covered her face with both hands, groaning into them.
“Are you okay?” Shaden said, feeling sorry for her. She looked like she was about to cry.
“I’m very much fine,” she stressed, squatting on the ground. “What am I going to tell Sister?”
“Did you lose a lot?”
“It’s not about the money. It’s about responsibility. First time outside, and I was robbed.”
“You could say my flute cost all of the money,” he suggested.
“Shaya is smart. She’ll roughly know how much your instrument costs. And I won’t be able to lie with the receipt.”
“Do you have it?”
“It’s inside of your box,” Eshel sighed. “She requires a receipt of everything. I hate merchants.”
Shaden scratched his cheek. “Well...you could say you gave it to me for allowance,” he added. “Then you won’t have to submit the receipt.”
Eshel’s eyes lit up. “Can I really say that?”
“Sure,” Shaden shrugged. “So, would you follow me back to our place?”
“We were going in that direction anyways,” she muttered, getting up. “Go. Lead the way.”
So Shaden merely followed the direction where his mana was flowing to, and while there were a few moments when they ran into blocked streets and dead ends, soon, they were able to recognize the buildings around the area—and from then on, Eshel marched in front, looking better than before. Shaden prepared the receipt as he was told, and after putting away the instrument box in his room, they went to Shaya to tell her they were back.
The older woman was sitting behind a stack of papers, looking through them with a frown on her face. Her snake was on the window sill, basking in the afternoon sun.
“Sister, we are back,” Eshel announced, holding the receipt in her hand. “Here is the cost of the instrument.”
Shaya nodded after taking the paper. “A quality gift for Shaden. I hope you like it.”
“Very much,” Shaden nodded. She smiled.
“And? The rest of the money?” she asked.
“I gave it to Shaden for allowance,” Eshel answered without missing a beat.
“Hmm. I suppose you need some money after all,” Shaya agreed. “But isn’t it too much?”
“Well, um, it’s for the whole trip,” Eshel said, nudging him. Shaden nodded.
“I promise I won’t waste it,” he assured, trying to look as innocent as possible. Shaya looked at the two of them, and Eshel’s awkward smile was painfully obvious, even to him. She sucked at acting, but Shaya seemed—or pretended—to buy it.
“Make sure not to lose it to robbers, because there are many of them,” Shaya told him. Shaden almost rolled his eyes when Eshel flinched visibly and swallowed noticeably.
When they made it out of the room, Eshel let out all of the air she had been holding in, sighing massively as she rubbed her forehead.
“What am I going to do?” she groaned. “At this rate, I’ll have to pay the money back from my money.”
“Aren’t you a rich family?” Shaden asked. “Don’t you get an allowance?”
“Yes, but we work for it,” she said. “The amount you earned is at least three weeks of taking care of sheep, one hour every day. That’s horrible.”
“I mean, I’m technically the one who will get in trouble, right? It’s my money now.”
“Do you think she believed us? Didn’t you see how she looked at us?”
Probably because of the way you acted, but he didn’t say it aloud. “Don’t worry. I’ll just say I lost it in a gamble.”
“Then she’ll blame me for not properly taking care of you. You have no idea how strict my sister is. She is just like Auntie.”
“She seems sweet.”
“To you! She likes children. But me? I’m as good as a week-old bucket of goat milk left outside in the sun and sand. Woe is me when she discovers the truth.”
“So...now what?”
Eshel sighed. “You can go practice your instrument or take care of your wyvern. I will need to find a way to make money.”
“I don’t think you have to worry about it.”
“For now, maybe. But my sister remembers everything.”
She muttered worryful words all the way to their building right until the moment they separated. But the moment Shaden laid eyes on his instrument box, he didn't care about anything else besides it. Sitting in front of it and rubbing his hands, he carefully opened it and placed the papers to the side and breathed in the smell of wood.
Slowly, he wrapped his fingers around the flute and felt it before putting it down again. He’d read the papers first before he played it.
“Made by a master craftsman from the Shinimuke tribe,” Shaden read. Examining the thick flute once more, he found a square seal engraved into the lower body, which read ‘Oka.’
He had no idea what this tribe was or where they lived, but that didn’t matter for now. Setting the introductory writing aside, he finally found the manual for the instrument with the fingerings and mouth/lip techniques drawn on it by hand.
No wonder the thing was so expensive. Everything screamed quality.
The box also included a long padded sack for the flute itself, which couldn’t be taken apart. There were also pockets on the sack meant for the stick and cloth to clean the flute with, as well as the bottle of oil that had been included.
Finally, after he was satisfied with looking over the other things, he picked up the flute. It was heavier than any instrument he’d held before, but it felt strangely steady in his hands. Taking in a deep breath, he blew.
The flute made an airy, dying sound. Shaden frowned and reviewed the lip positions. He was doing it correctly, wasn’t he?
He spent the rest of the afternoon trying to make a sound out of the costly stick that was his birthday present from the Jakhar Kishaks.
⤙ ◯ ⤚
Shaden opened his eyes. It was finally time to move.
Cloaking himself in magic, he jumped out of the window silently and began running deeper into the city after climbing past the walls. This part of the capital was fast asleep minus a few guards standing by, but the activities of Antafar were far from over. He’d seen where the robbers had vanished into. There had been a cleverly made door that looked like a fence, connected to a kind of hidden alleyway from what Shaden had sensed.
He’d find the black market, underground crime zone, whatever there was and take back the money they’d lost. Of course, not by stealing it. That would be way too boring.
What better place was there to show off his powers than somewhere secretive yet bustling? And with his abilities, no one would be able to find him. He’d go in, do some cool tricks, then come out with the money, vanishing from everyone’s radar completely.
His heart was already pounding with excitement. It had been impossible to sneak around alone with Lytha supervising him, but here, he was truly free. No one had the ability to stop him or detect him.
Shaden sent a wave of detection magic through the vicinity, trying to get a grasp of where the people were. There were bound to be people who noticed, but no one would be able to pinpoint the source. He loved the magic he’d been taught, and it was one of the reasons he’d decided to risk taking the responsibilities that came with becoming the heir to Skotos. It wasn’t that bad so far. He’d learned how to tame animals, which was wonderful. He’d use it on Shidey if he ever saw her again.
“There it is.”
Shaden stopped on top of the building after sensing a large group of people where only an empty street existed. They were underground, and from the roof, he could see shady figures going in and out of a small building that looked like a tavern.
He just hoped they weren’t doing anything really bad. Because then, he’d have to report them. Well, it was his first time, so even while being completely undetectable, he was still nervous. But it was a good sort of nervousness, one mixed with excitement.
Circulating allowed him to control his body completely, stopping the shivering. He took in a deep breath of the cold night air. This underground place had the most people involved so far, along with what looked like fighting contestants in a ring. But around him, he could see hooded figures watching the building he was on, wary of the mysterious presence that had sent out a signal.
To be honest, there had been a sort of resistance when he’d tried to detect the area he was in. So he’d increased his mana output until he’d been able to push through—and now, dangerous people were coming after him.
“Oh, well.”
He’d be long gone before they reached him.
Cracking his neck, he leapt from the building towards the entrance of the potential underground market he’d discovered.