Chapter 7 - My New Friends
After conversing alone for a while, the old man invited Kane to sit down on a nearby chair. Kane duly complied.
“My name is Titu, and I am the little boss of this tower. Here we sell all types of stuff you could possibly imagine. Need pills? Weapons? Armor? Recipes? Crystals? Just poke this old man, and he will find anything you wish for. Of course, as long as you pay for it that is.”
The old man was clearly showing off in front of Kane. As he finished speaking, he turned towards Kane, “Hey young man, you haven’t said anything yet… no need to be that shy, you`re acting like you are in front of a sexy beauty ha ha. So how about you tell me a little about yourself? What is your name? Which clan are you from?”
Kane instantly put up a funny hopeless expression, as he pointed his index finger towards his mouth. Titu stared at him puzzled. “What!? Are you saying that something got stuck into your throat?” Titu curiously asked. Kane still patient, shook his head, clearly indicating that it wasn’t the case. He then put his thumb and index finger together in a form of a circle, then put them in and out of his mouth and afterwards he moved his hand up and down his throat. What he wanted to tell him was that he swallowed a pill that silenced him. Titu stared at him with shock, before he uttered, “You actually did that stuff… and developed an infection?”
Hearing this, Kane`s face turned pale, and his calm expression immediately turned into that of irritation. Who knows what kind of perverted stuff the mind of Titu was currently imagining at this moment! Kane`s angry gaze fell upon Titu whilst shaking his head denying it. It was only now that the old man eyes flashed, like he had just received some kind of illumination. “Oh! Oh! Now I understand, you actually took a pill, and it silenced you!”
Kane had already given up trying to explain what happened to this old man. However, after Titu`s words reached Kane`s ears, his hopeless expression immediately turned into one of delight. Kane nodded happily as a hint of satisfaction appeared on his face.
“Bullshit! Bullshit! I have seen all kinds of pills, and there are no such pills that can silence people! You can fool everyone kid, but you can’t fool me! I am an expert that specialises in the field of pills and herbs! I know you are mute, so there is no need to try and hide it with stupid lies.” Titu said in anger and disgust.
“This old man is really hopeless,” Kane whispered in his heart, whilst at the same time decided not to keep arguing with Titu. He frowned, then laid back totally relaxing his head on his chair. He was wondering though, that for an expert not to be aware of such a pill, could only mean that the pills created by the Scientific Research Centre were truly something else.
“Well kid, you being a mute might be a bit problematic. There is a risk that the clan taking you might actually reject you now. I will do my best to convince them that you have the qualities though, so no need for concerns. Go up to the eight floor, you will find an empty room there. That shall be your room for your entire stay at this tower.” Kane nodded thankfully towards the old man, then started climbing the tower. It was only eight floors, but it actually took him a long while to completely climb all of them. The room allocated to him was simple and decorated with weird ornaments. There was only one window in the room. Kane walked towards it, and was instantly fascinated by the panoramic view of the whole city. In the middle of the city, was a huge stone eagle, and on its head were carved the following words: 'Violet Eagle City'.
For the next few days, the tower became Kane`s temporary home. He lived on the 8th floor along with the servants of Titu. The hospitality offered by Titu`s servants was actually quite impressive. Kane was given all kind of appetizing food and his daily needs were constantly satisfied. This prince-like life actually made him feel suspicious of them. It was too nice to be true, but yet it was!
While he spent most of his time on the 8th floor, Kane was sometimes allowed to venture to the higher floors. On each floor there was a shopkeeper in charge of the various merchandises that were for sale. The type of goods sold varied from floor to floor and the most mysterious materials and weapons were sold on the top floors.
This was the perfect opportunity for Kane to get familiar with some of the products of this planet. He managed to memorise the names of various pills and herbs, thanks to the captions that were written at the bottom of each item. From the same captions, Kane could straightforwardly deduce that the currency of this planet was the “Pira”. Most items ranged from few Piras to astronomical figures of millions of Piras.
However, the object that impressed Kane the most was a solitary item being sold on the 20th and highest floor of the tower. It looked like a small white pearl, and under it there was a caption that read as follows: “Seed of life. Price Tag – 20,000,000,000 Piras”. He speculated that for something this small to cost this much, it must surely be some kind of extraordinary treasure. However, in his present state Kane couldn’t even buy the cheapest items, yet alone this thing!
Days kept on passing by, and it was now already the seventh day of Kane`s stay at the tower. He was relaxing on a nearby couch when he heard the steps of someone approaching him. It was Titu, who came to deliver an important update.
“Hey young man, I have good news for you. The Elders of the Zafisi clan have accepted you as their servant with immediate effect. Ha ha, I would advise that you go prepare yourself, as they should be arriving later on today to pick you up. Just ask my servants if you need any cloths.” Titu smiled, while Kane kept staring calmly at him. “What are you waiting for!? Ha ha move your ass off and go prepare already!!!” Titu laughed out. Tears appeared in Kane`s eyes, as he bowed thankfully towards Titu. Kane didn’t waste any more time as he headed straightaway towards his room.
Few hours later, Kane was patiently waiting together with Titu at the ground floor of the tower. Kane was visibly anxious and appeared rather agitated, whilst his gaze was locked on Titu. Upon noticing this, Titu exhaled as he uttered, “I know what you are thinking. You want to stay here with me in this tower. However, I believe that your future would be much better at the Zafisi clan. The previous Patriarch of the Zafisi clan was a good friend of mine, and we had our share of good times together. I still can’t fathom how he managed to get himself killed on that day… Sigh… Helping his clan is the least I could do for him now. I believe a young servant such as you would be an asset for the Zafisi clan. Don’t be afraid, they shouldn’t treat you any worse than I did.”
Titu was then interrupted by an approaching rumbling sound. “Oh ha ha, looks like they have arrived, let`s go greet them young lad.” Titu immediately stood out as he walked outside of the tower. Kane followed closely behind him.
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A small carriage was outside waiting for them. It was made from some weird type of wood, it had four wheels and its build was very simple. Pulling the carriage were six strange yellowish coloured animals. For Kane, these identical animals looked like an amalgamation of horses, lions and dogs.
A small cracking sound was heard, as one of the door of the carriage opened. A middle aged man came out of it, then he bowed respectfully towards Kane and Titu. Titu was the first to break the silence. “Oliver! You have finally arrived. You are actually quite early ha ha. I hope you haven’t met any obstacles along your journey.”
“Elder Oliver Zafisi pays his respects.” The middle aged man said happily as he continued, “The journey was a peaceful one thank you.” He then turned his gaze towards Kane. “I believe that young man standing next to you is the promised servant, am I right?”
“Indeed he is. He has already prepared himself and is ready to come with you. Just keep in mind that these parts are rather new for him, so be sure you teach him the basic stuff.” He then turned towards Kane, “The time has come to bid farewell young fella. Don’t forget to come visit me from time to time… or I might get angry ha ha. Take care pal.”
Kane bowed respectfully one last time, then he walked towards Oliver. Afterwards, they both climbed into the carriage, as the carriage driver prepared to leave. From the window of the carriage, Kane stared towards Titu one last time, as tears began to drop from his eyes. Ever since the calamity of planet Yuba, Kane always felt lonely and in danger. Titu was the first person that made Kane feel safe and valued, and for that reason alone he felt very grateful towards Titu. Kane would never forget this benevolence. The carriage started moving, then it quickly accelerated and disappeared into the distance.
Meanwhile, Titu who had just entered back into the tower, was greeted by three of his servants. The oldest looking servant nodded respectfully towards Titu, then he spoke.
“Lord Titu, while we aren’t questioning your orders, we are still very curious to know why you, the City Patriarch, have taken such a liking to that kid...to the extent that you forced us to serve him.”
Titu laughed out. “Ha ha ha… yes, yes I went a little overboard ha ha. I even forbade you to reveal my identity. I so love keeping the low profile ha ha.” He kept laughing to himself.
“Well… I admit that I exaggerated with my pretending, but I had my own reasons. Ever since the guards at the gates notified me of the presence of officers from the SRC (Scientific Research Centre), I became worried, because those bastards are always up to no good. That`s why I have decided to hurry myself towards the tower to greet them. After all I am the City Patriarch, and it is my duty to protect my citizens.”
“In the past, this tower used to be a slave market, but one year ago I had lost my patience and ended up kicking all those traffickers out of my city. It is now my personal private shop, but those at the SRC shouldn’t have yet been aware of this.”
He then walked away from them while he softly muttered, “About that young man, he seems ordinary, but my instinct tells me he will be of great asset to the Zafisi clan. I don’t know exactly how, but that kid might actually be the catalyst needed for the revival of the Zafisi clan…”
Titu smiled whilst whispering to himself, “I will definitely be missing him.”
Meanwhile, Kane was sitting inside the carriage together with Oliver, as it marched outside Violet Eagle City. Oliver was busy reading some weird book, while Kane kept observing the outside landscape from his window. At one point Oliver closed his book as he slowly opened his mouth.
“The Journey will be a long one. It will take us around three days of Galactic time to arrive at Violet Tiger City.” Kane gave him a rather curious look. Oliver smiled as he explained.
“This is planet Magenta, located in the Eastern Sector of the Galaxy. There are several main cities located around this planet. The city we just left is one of the main cities and is named Violet Eagle City. We are now heading to the nearby Capital City of planet Magenta, Violet Tiger City. It is the biggest city on this planet, and the headquarters of our clan is located within it.”
“We are the Zafisi clan, one of the three strongest clans in Violet Tiger City, along with the Dabsika and Dorba clans. We have a long history that stretches out for thousands of years. Actually, until a few decades ago, we used to be the strongest clan in the city, but after an unfortunate event we declined in strength.”
“Regarding your duties, they will be explained in more detail once we arrive at the clan`s headquarters. Until then, you can relax and enjoy this journey.”
Oliver then reopened his book and started reading again. Along the way, they passed through several small villages, sometimes stopping for a while since Kane had to accommodate his daily needs at the several public stations located for passers-by. It was at this point that Kane realised that Oliver never ate or drank anything, which made Kane a little puzzled. Oliver noticed this, as he patiently clarified.
“I can survive without eating, drinking and even breathing for long stretches of time, since my main source of energy comes from my cultivation centre. However, you lack an active cultivation centre, so your energy must come from natural sources.”
Kane nodded his head thankfully for this explanation. Along the way, he kept pondering on what exactly was a cultivation centre. He immediately understood that for him to become stronger, one day he had to form his own cultivation centre. He had already decided to learn more about the properties of a cultivation centre once they arrived at the capital city.
Slowly the three galactic days passed by. After emerging through a small road within a mountain ridge, Kane could finally get a glimpse of Violet Tiger City. If one had to describe the vastness of this city, the word enormous would be an understatement.
Seeing Kane astonished face, Oliver burst out laughing, “Impressed by the size of our capital city eh? According to latest statistics the size of this city is around thirty thousand square kilometres. Truly remarkable isn’t it? And don’t forget, this will be the place you will be living throughout the rest of your life!”
As they advance further down towards the city, Kane couldn’t help but not notice that instead of city walls, there were just long towers in the shape of conical frustums, and each of these towers were roughly one kilometre apart from each other. On each one of these towers, there was a person. Every one of them was crossed-legged seemingly meditating.
As the carriage approached one of these towers, a middle aged woman that was sitting on the tower slowly opened her eyes. “Hmm… I have never sensed this presence before. Must be a new visitor.” She then smiled as she uttered to herself, “Welcome to our Violet Tiger City. Hope you will enjoy your stay.”