Chapter 2: Tumbled Steps
“I can’t believe Maia would cut you out like that,” Alice grumbled, putting her hand on Balthazar’s shoulder, as they sat outside of the temple. Night had fallen on the city, the darkness broken by more popping fireworks, and lanterns warmly lighting the streets. The party kept going on and on, and likely would continue past midnight. Alice paused for a moment. “No, I totally believe she would.”
Balthazar tried smiling all the same. “I just hope you have a fun time, and can really see the world.” Locke looked like he wanted to say something, but held back, not sure how to say it. Balthazar found that look familiar, but was appreciative of Locke’s restraint and patience, even if he wished his friend would speak his mind more. “It was great seeing even one of you get picked, both of you even more so.” His smile grew weaker. “All three of us going was still a bit much to ask for though, wasn’t it?”
Locke finally found his words, “It’s not wrong for you to want to go, but it’s not something you could have known to prepare for or something like that. They always keep the announcement of the pilgrimage a secret. There’s no shame in not being selected, you were a strong candidate, even with someone trying to impede you.”
“Yes, but-” Balthazar wanted to speak up, but stopped himself. ‘Both of you have well known and successful parents, so do I, and I still didn’t get picked,’ he finished in his head. No, it didn’t feel right to say. He knew they had earned their places on the pilgrimage, parents or not. “There’s nothing I can do now but be happy for you. And I will, I promise.” He forced his smile back out again, even if he could feel his body fighting him to match his emotions. “And make sure to keep Miles’ head on straight, if he didn’t already have a monstrous ego before…”
“You know he’s still convinced I’m being bashful with him?” Alice snickered a bit. “He’s a great magician, but you couldn’t convince him that the world didn’t revolve around him.”
“He would think that. Can’t say I could really see you being like that.” A bit more genuine happiness came back to Balthazar.
“Not with him.”
Locke blushed a bit seeing his friends sharing a moment together, not that they noticed in the dim light, as he feigned brushing dirt off of his face. For as much as Balthazar and Alice told him not to leave things unsaid, they just as well went leaving things unsaid between them. Still, it was something he didn’t feel the confidence to touch on. “It’s hard to say how long we’ll be gone Balthazar, do you have any clue what you’ll do while we’re away?”
“Not in the slightest.” Balthazar sighed. “I know you and Alice planned on enlisting, but I’m still lost. I could enlist, sure, but I don’t think I’ve ever thought of something that gave me passion like hearing the possibility of seeing the world like today did.”
“So, are you considering joining a guild then?”
Balthazar paused, there were all sorts of guilds, exploration, hunters, mercenaries and the like, funded by nobles, their own successes in finding fortune, or payment for a job well done. “I could Locke, but, I think the fun is doing that sort of thing with you guys.” He didn’t want to drag their moods back down or make them hesitate on leaving. “But, you know me, I can make more friends on the job.”
“Maybe you should come with us tomorrow,” Alice suggested, pausing, then quickly trying to clarify, “To the local guild house I mean. We need to charter a ship since we leave in a few days, so we’re heading down to the guild house to speak with someone from the Sailor’s guild.”
“Yeah, sure thing,” he said half-heartedly. Balthazar stood back up, Alice standing to follow him.
“Where are we going?”
“I think I’m just going to go home and go to bed.” Balthazar was the night owl of the trio, and the night was still young.
“Do you want me to walk back with you?”
“No,” Balthazar answered, “You don’t have to. I think I just need a little bit of time alone. I’ll meet you there tomorrow, okay?”
Alice wanted to protest, but didn’t. “I get it. I’ll see you then, okay?” She embraced him from behind for a moment. As she let go, he turned and waved slightly. They shared a brief smile, as they vanished from each other’s sight, the crowds breaking them apart.
Locke stood, and reassuringly put his hand on her shoulder. “He’ll be back on his feet in no time, but are you okay? You know you still have time to change your mind, right?”
“Sure,” she answered, “I want to stay, sure. But if I gave this up now, I’d regret it forever, and he’d never forgive himself for feeling like he made me stay.” She turned over to Locke. “But what about you?”
Locke was silent for a long while. “I still don’t know if I have the power to choose for myself.” He took a deep breath of the night air, searching the skies for the ship his brother was surely aboard.
***
Balthazar journeyed the streets accompanied only by his own thoughts, and the sounds of the festivities going on, but even then, he tried to stop and clear his mind in favor of some kind of void and clarity. He kept down the alleys, mostly, shortcuts he had grown up with, and routes the crowds weren’t so intensely in. He watched homes he passed, each one unique, as if grown to fit the people who lived there, in many cases, they essentially had been. He’d seen some houses get bigger as families grew, others waned away with time and loss. Few remained intact from those that were more than 15 years old now, many having been burned down, or having undergone heavy repair in the battle all those years ago.
His house was easy enough to find, decently close to the center of the city, a two story house, three bedrooms, one of which was for guests, a nice kitchen and office, and plenty of living space. It felt comforting now, as he turned the door handle to the dark house, his parents still out. He stopped for a moment, looking to Alice’s house next door. It was a bit larger, another two story, with four bedrooms, but it was an incredibly lonely house. Only two people lived there now, Alice, and her father Crowe. Even after the battle had ravaged this part of the city, it remained as it had once been.
Though nobody was home, Balthazar was still quiet as he closed the door behind him, and went upstairs to his room. He didn’t bother changing or getting under the sheets, just lying there atop his bed, listening to the now faint noises of the festivities outside. At times his mind was silent, other times it raced with the ‘what if’s’ of the day, losing track of time, as the festival grew quieter and quieter, he missed the sound of the door shutting a floor beneath him. His mind came back to him when he felt someone sit at the foot of his bed. The Light Paragon Anne looked to him concerned, though Balthazar tried not to let her worry. “Is it really that late?”
“A bit after midnight, unfortunately.” She sighed. “I really do hate these long drawn out formal events. But, well, that’s in the job description.”
Balthazar sat up to meet her gaze, though he was still shorter than her after all these years. “Well, it’s good to be back home every time, Mom.”
Anne embraced her son, not letting him go for a minute, in her attempt to comfort him. “Sorry about everything that happened today. I wish I could have told you about what was coming, but-”
“Secrecy, yeah, Locke was telling me.”
“Not just that. I wanted to stop Maia, but knowing her, she’d have spun it to make me look like a corrupt nepotist.” She’d tried hiding it before, but her face was holding back anguish when Maia had tried tearing down Balthazar before the royal family. Now however, her facade was breaking down. Balthazar knew her job came with a lot of responsibility, and with it, a lot of restraint on what she could do when it came to her private life. “I’m supposed to protect this city, and I can’t even stand up for my son. What a cruel joke.”
“Mom, it’s okay.”
“I don’t think it is.” She held Balthazar’s hands firmly in her own. “I know what it’s like to be denied something that seemed so close, Balthazar, and it hurts like nobody who hasn’t felt it would believe. The only thing that can be done now is to push forward. It’s not going to feel easy in the slightest, but letting this stop your life is exactly what people like Maia want.”
Balthazar sat on his mother’s words before responding. “Why does she hate me anyways?”
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Anne was hesitant to answer. “No, not you. Us. Your father and I. Crowe. Some people look to others to blame for their pain, and sometimes it’s justified, and sometimes, they let it fester into hatred for others and the world around them.”
“Mom?”
“Another time, Balthazar. I want you to promise me you’ll look to the future, not back.”
“I will.”
“Say it fully, for yourself, and for me.”
He perked up a bit more. “I promise to keep looking to the future.” She hugged Balthazar again, seeing his energy return to him.
“There’s a new day coming, all you have to do is wait for it.” She stood, and gently stepped towards the door. “Good night, Balthazar.”
“Good night, Mom.” Balthazar laid back down, and closed his eyes, as she closed the door behind her. “In that case, let’s wait and hope.”
***
The guild house was no more or less busy that day, much to Balthazar’s surprise. Granted, there was always something going on, people sending in requests to the Hunters Guild to exterminate local monsters, or guard detail being hired from the various mercenary guilds, there was always something going on. Balthazar was expecting to find some massive crowd surrounding the Prince to be moving around the city. Rather, he found his friends and the prince rather quietly entering the building as he searched the boards and guild advertisements. As he looked, it became a bit more obvious how they had done it, in that they simplified the way the Prince looked, sticking him in another Academia uniform that wouldn’t stick out in a city full of students. Balthazar waved lightly to his friends, Alice returning the gesture as Locke acknowledged him with a nod.
Miles barely paid him any mind, instead, making his way for the counter, as Atma gazed around the building, a sense of wonder on his face. Balthazar was rather thrown off, expecting some great formality or regal aura to the young man in front of him. If his friends weren’t accompanying him, he wouldn’t have believed who it was who stood before him. “So people in need make their posts here?” He observed the wall next to Balthazar. “I love it, really, a place where people can get help for problems, but also a place that seems to inspire adventure.”
Locke stepped to the other side of Prince Atma as Balthazar. “Sir?”
Atma laughed lightly to himself, scratching the back of his head. “My apologies, Locke. As I’m sure you can understand, I’m not able to explore the city like this all that often, I go off of books and stories most of the time.” He turned slightly to Balthazar, “Oh, I remember you, I wasn’t expecting to run into you today.”
Balthazar was silent for a moment, not sure how to respond to the open friendliness of the man in front of him. “I was just-”
“My lord!” Miles cut off Balthazar from the clutter of people in the hall, getting between himself and the prince. “They’re ready for us to register at the counter.”
“My thanks. Another time, my friend.” Atma stepped away, followed by Locke, and then Alice who mouthed words of confusion and shrugged behind them. Balthazar wasn’t sure if he was thankful to Miles for saving him from a conversation he wasn’t sure he could get through with the prince, or annoyed that Miles had cut him off from leaving a stronger impression. Balthazar walked towards the service counter, with other notes on job postings, overhearing the conversation with the clerk as he waited in line behind them.
“I’ll send a messenger to Port Royale before the day is up to register your ship. Our logs have an estimate at the next passenger ship departing in three days”
“Perfect, that gives us time to stock up on supplies and travel over there. That shouldn’t be more than a few hours ride by horse.”
“Sir,” Locke interjected, “Linia doesn’t maintain a Cavalry or rent horses, we’ll have to travel by foot or with a caravan.”
Atma stopped to think for a moment. “My thanks Locke. We’ll have to adjust our supplies then for foot travel. As for our budget, I think it’s intentional we got so little to work with. This whole journey is a trial, so my father likely wants us to be resourceful.”
“5,000 credits isn’t a lot?” Miles seemed thrown off.
“4,000 credits now, and that was a bargain deal. Between room and board, travel, gear, maintenance, and replacing things,” Alice started counting off on her fingers, “There’s a lot in the way of expenses, especially for four people. I think we’d only get as far as the Land of Mist with this much.”
“That’s the first stop!”
“A little bit into it, but wise budgeting would only get us so far.”
Alice turned back to the receptionist. “There are Guild branches all across the world, right? So, we should be able to take jobs in our travels to make ends meet, right?”
“Of course, but-.”
Miles cut in again, darting between Prince Atma and the receptionist. “But that would delay our journey by who knows how long!”
“Nothing to worry about, there’s not a due date to be back by,” Atma clarified. “My grandfather took a year to make his pilgrimage.” Miles shut up, to Balthazar’s delight.
The receptionist continued, a rather annoyed look on her face. “If there are no more interruptions to what I was saying, you most certainly could take on work for the Guild Houses for pay, but we’d have to charge you for the forming of a new guild.” Miles seemed like he wanted to butt in to ask questions, the receptionist giving him a death stare and a smile all at once. She kept going to answer him. “It’s not overly expensive, everyone starts small, even our largest guilds. 1,000 credits. The Guild Houses keep 25% of the pay for your completed jobs as an organizational fee, unless it comes directly from us. It keeps us up and running. In exchange, there are guild hosted shops and informants should you need them in your travels, among other benefits.”
“Satisfied with that, Miles?” Alice looked rather smugly over to the Dark Mage, who nodded in turn.
Atma brought his hand up to his chin, closing his eyes briefly to think. “It’s a sizable chunk now, but the long term says that this is far more helpful than it hurts.” He nodded to the receptionist, and counted out the money.
“Perfect. I’ll send out a form with your ship charter to the Guild House in Port Royale to have them prepare guild badges for you. Did you have a guild name to register this group under?”
Atma sighed. “Nothing really comes to mind to be honest.” Locke turned away, not wanting to answer, and Alice shrugged in response. Miles raised his hand to answer
She very briefly rolled her eyes. “Nothing for it, you’re…” She paused for a moment, jotting down a name on a form. “The Guild Zephyr. Can’t have you running around as the Dragon Whompers or the other stupid names the rookies pick to sound ‘cool.’ Don’t be like them, keep it simple, keep it short.”
“Are you allowed to say that?” Miles weakly raised his hand to raise a point.
“I’m paid enough to not say it. But I will.” She leered at him menacingly again, never losing the smile.
“I like you, you’re fun.” Alice snickered at the receptionist’s lack of patience for Miles’ questioning and yelling. Balthazar couldn’t help but smile a bit, though he did feel at least a little guilty that his smile came from someone he was jealous of not getting an inch from the receptionist.
The receptionist sighed. “Is that everything?”
“Yes,” Prince Atma nodded and bowed slightly, “Sorry for taking up your time.” He stepped out of the way, Miles and Locke tailing him.
“Next!”
Alice stopped to talk with Balthazar. “How are you feeling?”
“After that? Honestly excellent. Miles never really did learn to shut up and listen, did he?”
“I’m serious.” Her smile was soft, one of a warm concern.
Balthazar returned the gesture, smiling back. “Yeah, I’m okay. Whatever comes next, I promise I won’t let this drag me down. Just have fun while you’re away, okay?” It was half true, he was no less lost than he had been the night before, now it was just about him trying to move past it all.
Alice hesitated to answer at first, seeing through Balthazar, but she relented. “I will.”
“I said next!” Balthazar’s attention darted back to the receptionist, and again to Alice, who gave him an understanding nod, and went back to the others’ side.
“Sorry about that, I-”
“What was it you were here for?”
“I was looking to join a guild?”
“Well there goes one,” she answered sarcastically.
‘Yeah,’ he thought, ‘there they go, here I stay.’ He tried shaking off the thought. “Are there any openings at the local guilds?”
“The Hunter’s guild is alway hiring, and I believe the Black Hawk Mercenaries guild is hiring, they’re a more recent arrival here from across the ocean, just the other day.”
“Nothing for any of the adventurer’s or explorers guilds?”
The receptionist dropped the smile for a look that said, ‘Really?’ as she gestured to Prince Atma and the others as they headed for the door to leave.
Balthazar sighed, “Not exactly an option.”
“Well I don’t know what to tell you then, sir. If you could please, think about it, and get back to me, I have other people to get to before I can take my lunch break.”
Balthazar didn’t have a response or reason to argue, stepping out of line. Working as a hunter or mercenary didn’t sound all that appealing, but if push came to shove, he could get by. It was clear at least to him, he couldn’t just stand around and wait for another opportunity to pass him by, he had to have control over something, take a step towards anything. He found himself running to catch up with Alice and the others, catching them just outside the building.
“Wait!” He almost rammed into Locke, stopping just shy of running into them. “Wait, I have something I’d like to ask.”
Atma turned and nodded. “How can I help you?”
Balthazar was silent for a moment, trying to work up the courage to speak back up, but he’d already run up and asked to speak. “I know I’m not allowed to go with you, traditions and ritual and all that, you have your set companions, but-” He took a deep breath. “I’d like to go with you, I don’t care if it’s just as far as Port Royale, even if it’s only a day away. I just want to go out and do something with my life, and I want to know if going out into the world, exploring it and seeing new things with people is right for me.” Silence for a minute.
“It’s true, you can’t come with us,” the prince spoke gently, compassionately. “I have my companions, and I’m not to receive further support from the Kingdom.” A sly smile formed on his face. “But, my ancestor in legend found far more companions than just who he started his adventures with. I can’t take you with me, but there’s nothing stopping you from seeing your friends off at Port Royale.”
Balthazar was speechless, mouth agape in shock. Likewise, Alice looked to the prince in an excited confusion, Miles being completely flabbergasted, and Locke with a smiling nod of affirmation. “I can’t thank you enough for this.”
“I have a friend who would have liked to come too, but could not, duty calling him elsewhere. I think he’d approve of someone being able to join theirs, even if only for a little while. Meet us outside of town when we depart, and you can join us until Port Royale.”
This little chance, a shot in the dark, was all Balthazar could ask for. He smiled, his spirit burning bright. ‘A step forward,’ he thought, ‘not sure towards what, but I’m still going.’