Chapter 24
“Sani!” Vella yelled as she ran around the markets of Lazzure trying to look for her companion. Aren had just been pulled away by guards under suspicion that he was the High Arbiter’s son, but Vella just couldn’t believe that. She needed to find Sani and fast. She ran from stall to stall, trying to peer through the crowds of busy shoppers as she continued to yell out Sani’s name. Vella continued to search frantically until she literally barreled into Sani, knocking both of them to the ground. As they stood up Vella began babbling at Sani. “I’m so glad I found you, we need to go, Aren’s been taken!”
Sani’s face turned serious at the news, “Who took him?” She grabbed Vella and tried to slow her down. “Where did they take him?”
Vella took a deep breath and tried to speak more clearly, “The guards took him, they said they were going to take him to the High Arbiter.”
Sani let out a grunt of frustration, “That moron, what did he do this time? I swear if they don’t hurt him enough, I Will!”
“He didn’t do anything Sani, I swear,” Vella pleaded. “He tried to stop someone from swindling me and when the guards came over they said he was the High Arbiter’s son and they took him. I think they dragged him off to the palace.”
“Wow, that’s just ridiculous,” Sani said trying not to laugh, “there’s no way Aren could be high society, he’s not the High Arbiter’s son.” The two of them shared shrugs before looking off towards the edge of the port, gazing at the palace of the High Arbiter. They began walking towards the palace, taking in the massive structure as they approached. It sat a few dozen yards into the water, attached by a long stone dock. The dock itself was beautifully decorated with sculptures of ships, gold, jewels, and ornate figures that one would have to assume were the High Arbiters of the past. It seemed fitting to Vella that this palace didn’t really look like a castle or anything she knew to be royal housing but instead looked like a gigantic bank. There were several guards outside the building, but they didn’t seem particularly vigilant or awake for that matter. People were moving freely in and out of the massive front doors and the smaller side doors along the building’s edge. There really was not a singular thing about it that made Vella think of it like the large castle of Presidia.
They entered the building and Vella was astounded by the hustle and bustle. The palace was just as busy as the tightest packed of the markets they had visited. Though it didn’t appear that any real goods were being traded, Vella could see plenty of money exchanging hands, and rather quickly at that. Contracts were passed back and forth, signatures scribbled out all as men and women argued and talked rather loudly in the main hall of the palace. Vella couldn’t help but compare Lazzure to Aroster. In Aroster, despite the rather seedy appearance, everyone seemed comfortable in what they were doing, some even jovial. Here though everyone seemed incredibly tense, as though at the drop of a hat they would all pull weapons and happily attack one another. Guards stood stationed all over the walls and some simply stood in the middle of the room. They all brandished large, polished halberds, though none looked like they had ever been used before.
“Stop spacing out and follow me,” Sani said, grabbing Vella’s arm. She pulled and dragged Vella along before Vella could get her wits about her. She approached the grouping of guards standing in the middle of the room. It turned out they were surrounding an official, who based on the seal on his chest was rather important. He stood in the center of the room, draped head to toe in fine fabrics of the same gold and blue that so many seemed to wear here. Next to him was a rather large pile of gold bars simply sitting out in the open. Many of the people who passed by gave a covetous look to the gold, but none seemed foolish enough to reach for it. One man came up, bowed before the official, and passed him a piece of paper. The official pulled a monocle from his pocket and held it up to his eye, scanning over the paper. He pulled a small gold bar from the stack and handed it to the man. The man ran quickly, seemingly afraid someone else would try to pry the bar of gold from his hands.
Sani took the moment after as a chance to barge in, “You seem important,” she began. “Can you point us to where the High Arbiter would be?”
The official turned to Sani and his face turned to disgust. “Miss, I don’t know how things operate where you are from, but one does not simply see the High Arbiter on a whim, especially not such riff-raff as yourself.” He turned away from Sani as if he expected her to leave.
Instead, Sani reached out to grab his arm. The guards brought their weapons down, crossing them over Sani’s arm menacingly as one spoke, “You will not speak to the Eastern Arbiter this way. You will act according to the rules of Lazzure. If you cannot then you must leave the city at once.” Sani pulled back her arm and the tattoos sprawling across her began to glow green.
Before Sani could utter a word Vella saw a woman approach in blue and silver garb. She placed a hand on Sani’s shoulder, “Now is not the time,” the woman said. Sani looked at this stranger and understood immediately that it was actually Kraevos in another form. She took a deep breath and the green glow from her body faded. Kraevos had taken the form of a woman in her midlife. She had striking dark skin with the brightest green eyes Vella had ever seen. Her hair was in three long intricate braids that twined together down her back. She looked at the Eastern Arbiter and spoke, “You will have to pardon my friend, good sir, they are not from around here, but what I can tell you is that they are with me. Though it was rather rudely asked, this one is correct, we do need to see the High Arbiter.” Vella couldn’t help but now find it strange to see Kraevos as someone else. Even though she had spoken to him many times, not realizing it was him, it was now odd to hear his speech pattern coming from someone else. It was especially odd hearing it not in his usual deep velvety Baritone voice, but in the higher accented tone of this woman he was pretending to be. Kraevos pulled a note and handed it to the Eastern Arbiter. “I believe this should suffice to get us an audience, does it not?”
The Eastern Arbiter took the note and placed his monocle back over his eye, looking down. His eyes widened looking at the note and he frantically put it into his pocket. “Yes, yes,” he stammered. “You may indeed converse with his eminence. You there,” he said to one of the guards, “Take them to the throne room please.”
As they began to walk away Kraevos gave a twirl of his rather well-manicured finger and a slight blue glow hummed momentarily in the air. Vella watched this and asked, “What did you just do?”
“Nothing too fancy, I merely gave him an itch that he won’t be able to solve for a week,” Kraevos said with a laugh. Vella turned to see the Eastern Arbiter now itching furiously at his clothes.
The guard led them all to a long hallway and pointed to the end where two rather massive stone doors were. Then he turned and left. Kraevos form shuddered and he retook his more familiar appearance before scolding Sani. “That was awfully impatient of you Greenbraid, you know better how to handle places like this. Besides, didn’t I tell you that I would contact you all to meet up it seems as though Aren, as brutish as he is, is the only one who listened to me?”
“That’s actually the problem,” Sani began. “Aren got taken by Lazzurian guards, we think he’s here.” Sani ran her fingers nervously across her hair, “they seem to think he’s the High Arbiter’s son.”
Kraevos eyes went wide and he began to rub his chin, “This is most unfortunate. I know the prince of Lazzure had been missing for quite some time, but I like many assumed him dead. I do suppose though, Aren is of the right age, though he lacks the court-learned civility I would have expected of someone raised here. Then again he clearly isn’t from Draeton either. Regardless, we will get to the bottom of this and find our friend.”
“Hold up,” Sani said, “You can’t seriously think he’s the High Arbiter’s son, can you?”
“Well, let us look at the facts,” Kraevos replied. “Aren lived on the streets in Presidia, did he ever tell you of his life before he met you?”
Sani shook her head, “Not really, didn’t seem like he wanted to talk about it. Always seemed to put him in a foul mood if I even asked.”
“So maybe he had a reason to leave,” Vella suggested. “I mean it’s not like I know much about being a prince or whatever, but maybe there was a good enough reason that he had to leave Lazzure.”
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Sani frowned, “Must have been a darn good one if he thought life on the street was better. I mean he couldn’t have at least taken some money with him? We could have been living a lot better than we did. Not to mention if he wanted to keep a low profile why did he decide to be a knight? Seems like he was just making dumb choices all over!”
“I’m sure he had his reasons,” Kraevos said placing a hand on Sani’s shoulder to try and calm her down. “I have dealt with several of the different High Arbiters over the years and I have to assume that being the son to one such person is not all it is cracked up to be. Kraevos walked towards the doors, ignoring the muttering and grumbling Sani continued to do. “Best not to assume what his reasons were and to instead hear them from him directly.” They all continued walking down the hall. Vella gazed out the windows as they went along. This part of the building was farther out onto the water than she had realized before, it was fully out into the ocean with no land coming close to touching it. The water around the palace was beautiful and clear, only the gentlest waves motioned around the entire building. Fish could be easily seen swimming about carefree without the worry of fishermen around.
They approached the end of the hallway to what Vella thought was a rather fitting door. Instead of the normal double doors that Vella had grown accustomed to seeing in royal buildings, this one had a massive circular door that looked like the entrance to a bank vault. The door was partially slid to the side, leaving an entrance into the room beyond it. Vella found it odd that there were no guards at the door or in the room for that matter. As they entered Vella began to understand what Kraevos meant about the connections between the kingdoms and the throne rooms. Where the rest of the palace was distinct and had its own feel, the throne room was exactly the same as the one in Draeton. The same alabaster walls surrounded the inner room and the same small steps led up to the throne. The throne was the only thing in the room that was truly unique. This throne was made of swirled sea glass, depending on what angle you saw it from the colors shifted and changed with the light. As far as Vella could tell there were no distinct markings or carvings like the one in Draeton, but it was hard to tell given the luminescent nature of the throne. Sitting atop the throne was the High Arbiter himself. He was an older man with the leathery sun-beaten skin of someone who had spent many years on the open ocean. His eyes were a deep blue that matched the blue of his robes. He had a stern unwavering look on his face, clearly judging you the moment you came into his sight. Next to his throne was a large staff made of the same material as the throne and at its top was a golden scale. The same golden scale was the image on every tapestry in the room and was on his robes visibly in at least two places. In front of the High Arbiter stood Aren, yelling furiously.
Kraevos approached the two of them confidently as though he was in control of the room with Sani following quickly behind. Vella realized she was now standing alone gawking at the whole situation and scampered to catch up with the others. “Oh most Impartial High Arbiter, I have come to speak with you on a manner most urgent,” Kraevos said trying blatantly to flatter.
The High Arbiter turned his gaze down to Kraevos, who was bowing humbly. Kraevos waved his arm to Sani and Vella, urging them to do the same. The High Arbiter’s face barely moved as he spoke “You will have to wait your turn mage, I am attending to important matters currently. Leave and I shall summon you when I have the time.”
Kraevos stood back up and locked eyes with the High Arbiter, “Sir I do not think that you understand the dire nature of my words. I must speak with you now, it is of the utmost importance to all of the kingdoms.”
Finally, the High Arbiter’s face changed, an angry sneer crossed his lips and his eyes narrowed. Vella could hear the water around the palace begin to churn as waves slapped the building. He stared down Kraevos as he spoke. “Whatever concern you believe you have needs to wait. I know who you are mage and I know what news you bring. There is nothing worth any value that The High Arbiter of Lazzure does not possess and that includes information!” He thumped his staff on the ground and the sound echoed through the throne room. “I have no desire to discuss any matters with you until I am finished with this one!” he said as he pointed to Aren.
Aren stood with his fists clenched tightly, grinding his teeth in frustration. Sweat was dripping down from his brow as he stared intently at the High Arbiter with disdain. “There are the people I was telling you about you pompous idiot!” The High Arbiter turned his gaze back to Aren and his face returned to what seemed to be an emotionless default. “I don’t particularly care about you or about anything in this darned port. Gods above I sure don’t plan on staying here either. Just give us what the mage needs and I’ll be gone!”
A dry smile cracked the High Arbiter’s lips. “My son, you have it all wrong.” His voice was calmer, more reassuring now. The crashing waves outside calmed back down as he spoke. He tapped his staff on the ground again, this time it stood completely upright on its own as he stood up. “I by no means want you to leave, I never wanted you to leave in the first place. I am happy to have you back. You are my son and you belong in Lazzure with me, it is time you rejoin the family business. It will be the greatest of news to all of Lazzure to have our line of succession back in order.”
“The family business is why I left in the first place,” Aren responded angrily. You don’t actually care about me or anyone, you just care about our value, how much we could be worth. I’m your son and all I ever was to you was another trinket to put in your coffers. You don’t get to own me, I’m not some helpless child anymore.”
“But my son you are wrong again. You have always and will always be mine. You are of such great value to the whole kingdom. I have never seen one with such an eye for quality and value. Even at a young age, you were a better evaluator than the arbiters below me. What greater purpose could there be for you? Certainly not as some lowly knight of Draeton. You are not from there, you do not belong there.” The High Arbiter’s lips curled into a wicked smile. “You belong to me, not to Dracyr.”
“I belong to no one ‘cept myself,” Aren yelled back in reply.
The two men stared at each other in silence, waiting for the other to make the next response. Instead, it was Kraevos who attempted to break the unnerving tension. “Good sir, might we have a moment to discuss matters with our friend? I’m sure that together we can come to an agreeable solution that would benefit us all. After all, we do want to keep the scales balanced don’t we?”
The High Arbiter groaned and rolled his eyes, “Fine, fine, if you must. If you try to leave though I will bring the entire might of the ocean down upon you.”
“We wouldn’t dream of it sir,” Kraevos said as he bowed quickly and grabbed Aren by the arm. Sani and Vella followed quickly out of the throne room. All four of them stood outside the throne room, far enough that they thought they couldn’t be listened in on.
Before anyone could start saying anything Sani wound up and punched Aren squarely in the stomach. Aren doubled over from the unexpected blow as Sani began yelling at him. “How could you not tell me you were the son of the High Arbiter?”
After taking a moment to catch his breath Aren replied, “Because I sure as all get out don’t want to be. It’s not like he’s ever been any real kind of father to me anyways.” Aren looked back at Sani and she could tell she had struck more than a few nerves as the normally sarcastic and grumbly man had the beginnings of tears in his eyes.
“What do you mean by that? Vella asked.
“I mean exactly what I said in there,” Aren responded. “People are just possessions to him. Everyone and everything has a price tag and if he can trade up, he will. The only darned reason he wants me back is because I’m valuable to him, doesn’t really have anything to do with me. Has to do with the value of my skills and the value of having a successor.” He turned to Sani and embraced her in a hug, she struggled for a moment and then hugged him back. “I didn’t tell you because I knew how much trouble it could get you in. You’re the only family I’ve had since I left here.” He let Sani go and wiped a few tears from his eyes.
“I knew there was something off about him from a young age and then when I was about ten I watched him cast my mother out to the ocean with my own bloody eyes. She didn’t have any more value to him, so he got rid of her. Monster lied to my face and said she died from the blood plague. I have seen so many darned people come and go through that man’s supposed “family” that he’s thrown away the minute they stop being valuable to him. It didn’t take me too long to realize it would happen to me too, so I ran. I went as far as my feet could take me. I had threatened it so many times, but I don’t think he ever thought I’d have the guts to follow through. I ended up in Draeton cause at least I could scrape together a meager enough existence there. Wasn’t too long after that I found you.” He put a hand on Sani’s shoulder and just let his tears flow freely. “I don’t care if you still hate me, you are the only family I have left.”
Sani pushed his hand off, and with an angry glare as tears began to well in her eyes she asked, “Then why did you leave me?”
Aren stared down at his feet and cleared his throat. “Cause it was the only way I could protect you. I was out in the city one day and got stupid and I headed to the upper part of the city trying to find some work. I ended up bumping into Dracyr and her royal guard as she was out shopping. She recognized me and told me she knew who I was. She said she wouldn’t tell her father or mine, but in order to stay silent she would need me close, so she had me join the knights. I knew that if I told you, you would have tried to do something stupid and tell her off or worse, so I didn’t tell you. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. There isn’t a day that I haven’t regretted what I did.” Aren looked up to see Sani staring a hole through him. She slapped him across the face nearly knocking him over and leaving a substantial red mark.
“You big idiot! You should have told me, we would have figured something out!” she said as she grabbed Aren and hugged him again. The two of them continued to sob as Vella and Kraevos let them have their moment.
After a minute Kraevos cleared his throat and interrupted. “As nice as this very cathartic moment is for the two of you, we do need to resolve the issue at hand.” Sani and Aren wiped the tears from their eyes and tried to regain their composure. “Given Aren’s understanding of his father I do believe we have an angle to exploit him and I have an idea that I think will work quite well,” Kraevos said with a wicked grin on his face.