The Foolhardies 123 Broken City

As we crossed into the now open portcullis, I found myself staring up at a city whose grandeur was nothing like that of Shärleden or Broken Sellsword's Canyon, although it definitely held its own beauty.

The streets were paved blocks of sandstone. So were the walls and houses around them. The greens which were so common in Shärleden were spa.r.s.e, a potted plant here and there or a lone tree cropping up from the stonework was all I could see.

What caught my attention, however, was the myriad of colorful tapestries and banners that could be seen from nearly every angle of the street we'd just walked into.

I a.s.sumed it was a bazaar of some sort. The hawkers and merchants chanting out prices of their products were sort of a dead giveaway, although many of these fairies gave us a wide berth. Possibly this was due to the surly faces of our guides. As if the horns sprouting out of their foreheads didn't make them look evil enough.

But no sooner had we left one bazaar, our guides taking us through a side street with narrow steps down and then up and then left and then, well, next thing you know, we'd found ourselves in an even bigger marketplace where even street performers, many of whom looked like the jesters and harlequins of old Europe, entertained the throng of shoppers with their silly performances.

It was quite a sight. In fact, Luca and I had walked over to the edge of a gathered crowd. Toward its front, a miniature theater had been set up for the sprite performers on the tiny stage.

"What do you think it's about?" Luca asked.

We would find out soon enough as the play had started.

Apparently, it was a tragedy, like Shakespeare's Macbeth, only, with its own fairy twist.

The lead sprite, a rather big one for his kind, played Garm. He was discussing palace etiquette with the sprite whose harshly painted face reminded me of Kabuki theater. I think it was their way of pointing out he was the bad guy and Garm, who had pristine white teeth, was the good guy. Of course, this evil sprite was Garm's nephew, Auranos, and the vixen looking sprite beside him, the one with the fishnet stockings and the black dress, apparently that was Aura.

I glanced behind me to the satyr commander escorting us to Garm. He'd simply gazed back at me with a shrug.

"We allow our performers to exercise artistic license, to interpret history the way they see it," the satyr said.

I rolled my eyes at him before turning back to the stage and nudging Luca with my elbow.

"More like propaganda," I whispered.

Luca nodded. "Definitely."

We continued watching the street play, which, in the entire fifteen minutes of the first act, portrayed my friend, Aura, as a harlot who craved power over anything else. Her brother was no less evil, plotting behind their uncle's back and seeking to steal the Patriarch's seat from his rightful a.s.s.

Doth thou seeketh the seat from our great uncle? fake Aura asked fake Auranos. "Then take this, sweetest kin, a knife in the dark right into his hero's heart."

Fake Aura handed fake Auranos a sharp sprite-sized knife. He looked down at it with a wicked gleam in his eye.

"This is just wrong, just wrong…" Luca's fists had tightened into knuckles. "Good thing Aura isn't here…"

"Yeah, Good thing…" I said, remembering the reason for Aura's disappearance. It was the other big headache of my night. "Come on… I've seen enough."

We turned around and walked away with Luca and Ashley needing to pull and prod Edo away from the play. I couldn't fault the murderous vibes he was giving off after seeing his charge defamed like that.

The Jester's Court was true to its name, filled with all sorts of attractions and shops hawking wares from all over the central region. The packed streets turned into dead-end corners, widened and narrowed suddenly, or went up or down uneven steps with seemingly no rhyme or reason to them. It was like a giant maze, and I was certain it was meant to be this way to keep intruders out or, even more likely, in.

But one thing that struck me more than the colorful sights and sounds were the deadpan faces of its citizens. Even a smile was quickly replaced by a seemingly melancholic mood that spread out from the gathered crowd. More than looking dejected, the citizens of Jester's Court seemed broken somehow.

Eventually, our guides led us to a final wide stone street that led straight to the ma.s.sive fortress that loomed over the city.

Surrounded by thick walls whose battlements were taller than the city gates, half a dozen pointy towers rose up to meet the night sky like spears defiantly aimed at whatever heavenly prank had been played on its owner. The portcullis beyond was the same type as the entrance to the city, but the bars were thicker.

"Place giving off a creepy vibe to you?" I asked Luca.

"Yup… thought it was just me," he responded almost immediately. "It's kind of like how I imagine Dracula's castle to look."

"You know…" I elbowed my brother's arm. "I didn't need that image…"

The keep even had a moat, and upon inspecting said mote after we 'd crossed its wooden bridge, I saw that the water below was filled with scaly creatures whose names I did not know. But they definitely seemed like they were at least relatives to alligators, the oversized kind.

We crossed into the keep's courtyard, an expansive s.p.a.ce that was roughly the size of a basketball court. Training implements littered the yard, from straw dolls to racks and racks of weapons. Past the courtyard, ma.s.sive steps led up to two thick wooden double doors.

The doors were ajar, filtering out the light from the entry hall beyond. However, there was no need for us to go to them as my quarry was sitting on a wooden seat twenty yards away while observing his soldiers as they performed training drills with a sword.

The man, for he looked more like a man than any fairy I'd ever encountered, was ma.s.sive. Muscular arms bulged underneath a sweaty s.h.i.+rt. A thick neck supported a square-jawed face that wouldn't have looked out of place in a Superhero movie. His golden hair, the same color as Aura's, was parted neatly to the side. He was no Edo, but he was definitely in his category when it came to the imposing-stature-vibe.

Yes, he looked very human. In fact, the only part of him that distinguished him as a fairy were the long, pointed ears on the side of his head.

"Azuma," I whispered. "Time for a show of force."

At my command, Azuma yelled, "Form ranks."

His soldiers, all of whom were former visere elites of the Magesong clan, diligently followed their squad leader's command, spreading out behind us in two neat rows of ten, their bronze armors impeccably s.h.i.+ny underneath Idunn's light.

"Forgive the interruption, master," the satyr commander said in what was unmistakably a quaking voice. "But this five—"

I stepped forward and saluted Garm. "Five-Hundred Man Commander, Dean Dapper, here to greet Great General Garm of the Trickster Pavillion's Four Generals."

Garm's ears p.r.i.c.ked when he heard my name. He turned to face me, his deep blue eyes searching my face.

He raised a ma.s.sive hand, and immediately afterward, his soldiers dropped their training stances and formed ranks behind him as if in mimicry of my own troops. Only, there were many more of them on his side.

Garm rose to his feet, his tree-trunk legs bulging underneath thin trousers, and made his way to me. In his right hand, he hefted a great sword that would have made Luca's weapon seem tiny in comparison.

When he was within striking distance of me, Garm lifted his sword and planted its pointy end deep into the ground. Then he placed both hands on the pommel of his sword and showed off a rather relaxed stance that reminded me of Azuma when he was baiting me.

Garm's eyes trailed the length of my party. He frowned at seeing Luca, grunted when he saw my s.h.i.+eldmaiden companion, smiled when he saw Edo, and then narrowed his eyes at the sight of Azuma.

"Such an interesting party the Patriarch has sent me," he said in a voice that was all gruff with no warmth. "Has he finally decided to come for my head, Edo?"

Garm's address of Edo was a proverbial slap in my face. It meant he hadn't recognized me as worthy of speaking to.

"No, Great General," Edo said, shaking his head. He pointed a hand at me, deferring to me as he should have. "We have traveled a great distance so that my Commander could speak with you."

Garm spared me another look of contempt. The guy already didn't like me and I hadn't even opened my mouth yet. Still, I wasn't about to be intimidated by this muscle head. Not with Ty's life hanging in the balance.

"I'm here to ask you if the Foolhardies could—"

"—Denied," Garm cut me off quickly.

"But, you haven't even—"

"—I don't need to hear it. I refuse to help Aurana's pet," he said, grinning mischievously back at me. "Go back to your tiny tower, boy… You're not strong enough to play in this arena."