Aphrodite's Acolyte (16 page)

The trio entered the city on horseback, Fidel's eyes widening at the huge layout of the complex. The salty sea air filled his nostrils. The city was not as organized as Puldechra, and seemed to consist of a lower class citizenry. Shanty homes were found everywhere and the classes of the city were very well-defined, with the higher class being closer to the city's center. The city center hosted a large black palace, its onyx walls appearing black as night even in the mid-day sun.

“Remember, Fidel, I am not the most welcome here.” Abby reminded him. Cap turned a questioning eyebrow up at the remark, forcing Abby to tell the story of her scar.

When Abby finished, Cap commented, “Judging by the looks of this place, I doubt the memory is as lasting as your...” Cap couldn't find the words so he just spit it out, “...face.” He quickly pointed out the many shady beings in just about every alleyway they passed.

Abby smiled, both at Cap's comment, and at the fact that she recognized a couple of those dark clothed figures. “Law enforcement is very selective here. Just don't steal from the palace, or the wife of one of the aristocrats, and they will overlook your crime.”

It was Fidel's turn to look confused, not understanding how such a huge city could survive with such lawlessness. As they continued their tour of the City of Chaos, Fidel couldn't help but feel out of his element. For the first time in his life, he questioned the morals of the goodly races he has come to know and love. He remained quiet for the rest of the tour, letting Abby take the lead in this uncomfortable realm.

Abby led the group to a store specializing in alchemy. The men accompanied her inside. She demonstrated her healing salve to the shopkeeper. He immediately demanded to buy a large bottle of the super-powerful healing agent. Abby walked away from the store with a shockingly full coin purse as she traded half of her mixture to the owner. She gave Fidel forty percent as his father provided all the ingredients. She then gave Cap ten percent stating, “You lack tact and are rather clueless, but you're good with a bow and still welcome!” Cap thanked her without even considering the underlying insult, anxiously counting his newfound wealth. Fidel and Abby chuckled.

The Marisali vagabonds continued on their tour until they found an inn located near the palace. Abby rented three rooms for the night and the group made their way to their respective abodes, agreeing to meet up for supper after cleaning themselves. The group met downstairs and enjoyed a warm meal and ample drink.

Abby couldn't help but notice how quiet and uncomfortable Fidel was in this city. “What is troubling you, Fidel? You're usually a lot more merry.”

Fidel shrugged. “I don't know. I don't know if it's the semi-anarchist lifestyle in which the people of this large and well established city survive. Or if there's something else that....” Before Fidel could finish his sentence, a rowdy dwarf crashed into his back, knocking him from his chair. The tavern immediately exploded into a full on brawl as patrons smashed each other with chairs and bottles, seemingly without care or concern of who they attacked.

Fidel heard Cap yell, “Come Fidel! It's Ludus Rixor!” Fidel watched as Cap buried his fist into a drunken human a few inches taller than himself. Fidel shook his head at the chaotic scene and lamented the lack of justice and purity before him. He started to rise up, but the world immediately went black as a boot of an unknown attacker landed squarely on the side of his face, knocking him to the ground.

A few minutes later, Fidel felt the cold splash of water being thrown on his face. Abby stood over him and held her arm out, offering him assistance to his feet. He accepted and was on his feet within a heartbeat. The scene was still full of pandemonium and Fidel couldn't help but feel his anger swell. He held up his hands, intending to launch some magic into the fray.

Abby knocked his hands down and looked him sharply in the eyes, “No Fidel, no weapons. That's the rule.” Fidel looked at her incredulously. Abby grabbed Fidel's hand and led him up the stairs, to the balcony to watch the chaos from above. She explained the “rules” to him. “You can only use what is available. Bottles, tables, chairs, etc. Only what the bar provides.”

Fidel looked blankly at Abby as she laughed. “So you've never been in a bar like this I see! You are safe up here. In fact, any person is safe on the balcony or outside the door. Watch the chaos unfold. You view this as lawlessness. This is normal for almost every bar situated on the coasts of Mirater. I'll fill you in later but, for now, I need to go let out some steam and bust a few heads! Just stay here and watch!” Abby then straightened Fidel's robe, looked into his bewildered face and winked, then darted off down the stairs to join the hectic scene sprawled out before him.

Fidel stood on the balcony, watching as Cap took a bottle to the back of his head, only to jump up and put a fist through his attacker. Abby squared off against a man twice her width and a few inches taller. The man knocked her down with a single blow to the face, only for her to jump back up and kick him in the groin, then slam both her fists into his face at the same time. Fidel just watched as his friends were exchanging carnal blows with everyone. He watched as bottles smashed into heads, tables crashed over backs, fighters slammed into walls, and punches and kicks flew about freely. He felt sick.

Almost an hour had passed and the fight was finally calming down. The patrons of the bar were so tired they couldn't toss anymore blows. The fights reduced to simple slugging matches where each rival took a turn, trying to drop each other. When only a few patrons remained standing, the barkeep rang a bell and all the fighting stopped. The customers of the bar sat down in their spots, breathing heavy, thoroughly exhausted, and bleeding profusely.

The barkeep moved to a shield on the wall behind him. He hit the shield with a hammer and the clanking sound echoed throughout the room. A mist poured out of the shield, forming a thicker and thicker fog in the room until the fog was so dense, Fidel could not see the scene below. Fidel panicked and rushed downstairs to retrieve his friends.

As he entered the fog, he felt a stinging pain in his jaw where the blindsided kick landed earlier. He reached up and felt the lump that formed on his face shrink in size until nothingness, taking the pain with it. He stood at the bottom of the stairs, perplexed at the situation.

A short time later, Abby and Cap walked toward him laughing and smiling. Where Abby once had a swollen eye, there was none. Where Cap had blood running from an open wound, there was none. Cap and Abby raised their hands to wave at Fidel. Fidel attempted to wave back but felt all the blood in his head abandon him, taking his consciousness. The last thing he saw was Cap and Abby running toward him as he fainted hard to the floor.

Fidel woke later, sitting at the table he was eating at before the dwarf came crashing in on him. He noticed his belt was holding him upright. Abby and Cap sat across from him, smiling and sharing their fighting tales from the past hour. Each of them interjected with compliments and advice for the “next time”.

Fidel cleared his throat and Cap put down his mug. Cap reached over and gave Fidel a drink and asked if he was okay to sit on his own. Fidel, still a little dazed, nodded his head and Cap released the belt. Abby shook her head, quietly chuckling at Fidel.

She chortled, “Well Fidel, now you know what they mean by Ludus Rixor.”

Cap and Abby both chuckled and slammed their mugs together in a toast. Fidel sat in silence, looking around the bar and noticing there were no signs of a fight within. He reached down and grabbed his mug, downing his mead as quickly as possible. He didn't say another word for the rest of the night. He figured he had a lot more to learn in this world and observation was probably best for him at this point.

The night went on for a few more hours, Cap sharing many of his tours of duty and how a couple of them involved the town of Marisali. Abby shared stories of many of her thefts in the city, the old days as she referred to them. Fidel could see in Abby's eyes that she regretted her crimes. When the trio was ready for bed, they headed to their respective rooms, wishing each other sweet dreams and good rest for the journey ahead. Fidel entered his room, locked the door, and plopped himself on the bed. Sleep found him quickly.

The next morning came quickly. The trio, all having a good night's sleep, joined for breakfast to plan their forthcoming assault on Pravas' compound. They magically linked with Lord Fineal and Methvas, who had Lord Ias on the magical line. Abby drew the approaches of the Puldechran and Hovel armies on the map and they all worked out a time for the assault, three nights from this very evening.

              The plans were all set and the trio decided to spend their day seeing the sights of the apparently lawless Marisali. Fidel preferred to stay in the room and depart that evening but Cap and Abby outvoted him, telling him he would enjoy the city if he gave it a chance.

As the trinity of travelers roamed the streets of Marisali, Abby looked to Fidel. “Fidel, this city has heart. While you're used to more lawful places like Harlow's Hovel, Puldechra, and Marides to the north, Marisali has more individual freedoms. With those freedoms come more responsibilities and ultimately, the citizens form brotherhoods. People who take from others, much as what I once was, form guilds where the members protect each other. Priests form convents. Guards form garrisons. Mages form leagues. And warriors form unions.”

Abby pointed out the various buildings representing the brotherhoods as she explained. “You're used to a centralized government with an absolute rule. Marisali does have a centralized government, but it surely isn't an absolute rule. The people here rule each other.” She paused and noticed Fidel was picking up on the difference. “Unfortunately, this methodology does create an appearance of lawlessness, but I have witnessed attacks on the city and, when called upon, even the thieves guilds join in any war against tyranny from outside forces, and they always seem to win. It is very different.”

Fidel took in Abby's words and watched the people of the town, looking for signs of the truth in her words. He witnessed a small boy, no more than ten years old, stealing a piece of bread from a merchant's cart, and running off. The merchant quickly caught up to the child and dragged him to the cart, crying all the way. Fidel's stomach turned and he was ready to jump in and offer to pay the merchant.

As the merchant was about to beat the child with a belt, a brown armored man approached. A symbol adorned the sleeve of his leather armor, the same symbol seen on the child's sleeve, a circular symbol of a hand holding a goblet. The merchant's belt made contact with the child's behind twice before the brown armored man caught the merchant's arm. The merchant and the man engaged in a short discussion, some money exchanged hands, the merchant handed the bread to the armored man, and the boy and his savior started walking toward Fidel and his companions. Fidel could hear the exchange between the man and the child as they walked by.

The armor clad man asked the boy, “Do you know why I did not stop that man from punishing you?”

“No,” the boy responded between sobs.

“If you are to join the guild, you must get used to being punished when you get caught. And you must get better at not getting caught. You got caught, so you got punished.” The man continued his matter-of-fact logic. “Do you think the law will be less harsh when they catch you?”

The boy answered with a look of contempt in his eyes. "No."

“Good. I covered you this time, as the guild will do many times in your life. But you must get better, Joseph.” The man turned the boy to face the rows of the merchants, “Why would you steal from the younger man selling bread when you could have stolen from the older man just three stalls down? The older man surely could not have caught you as easily.”

The boy looked up at the man. “The older man has magical enchantments and I saw him casting spells earlier in the day. Spells that would have stopped me sooner.”

As the surrogate-child pair walked away, Fidel's mind replaced the man with his second mother, and the child with himself.

Watching the two walk away, Abby chimed in. “From what you've told me Fidel, isn't that situation exactly what you experienced in Marides with your own mother?” Fidel gave Abby a glance and a nod, acknowledging and conceding her point. Abby continued, “Marides is more lawful with a more centralized government. In Marides, family is tighter and less prone to separation. In Marisali, the community raises one another's children. You just witnessed exactly what you went through growing up, except the children here have far more parents and the organizations define the rules to enforce.”

Fidel considered Abby's words thoughtfully. “Abby, you are correct. I have judged too quickly and with too much of my own recent experiences. May I ask why you care how accurately I judge this land of Marisali? After all, was it not here that you gained that scar?" Fidel pointed at the scar leading from Abby's ear to her mouth. "I would think you would be full of rancor for this city for allowing such an event to occur.”

Abby's face twisted, exposing that Fidel's words bit at her. She obliged the question. “While this city was where I received this scar, it was not these people who gave it to me.” Abby's voice tensed harshly. “I do not blame the people of Marisali for not permitting me to steal their stuff. I stole and it was their right to punish me for it Fidel. But it was not Marisali's blade that cut the line from my mouth to my ear. That action was Balomes' alone. Marisali punished me fairly for my crime against their people.”

Abby stopped for a second, her eyes appearing to grow dark as coal. “Balomes' injected his personal feelings of what was right and wrong before running the blade along my face.” She spat on the ground, the rage obviously taking hold on her heart. “That is why I don't want you to do the same, Fidel. Your judgment of these people was exactly the same as Balomes' sentence on me. Interjecting your opinion leads to extremes. Extremes lead to excess and often times, permanent damage.” Abby ran her finger along her scar, emphasizing her point.

Fidel stared at Abby, offering no more than a blank stare. He was not sure whether to get upset that Abby just compared him to a vile dwarf that enacted a permanent sentence on Abby or to accept her accusation for truth. His heart told him to justify himself, but his mind reminded him of the truth to her point. Fidel  looked to Cap for advice. Cap's face showed he was performing his own introspective analysis of the situation.

Cap looked back at Fidel and shrugged, “I think she's right Fidel. You are being overly judgmental of the situation here. But I can understand why.”

Fidel listened to Cap's words. His first instinct was to yell at Cap and Abby to defend himself against their judgments. He looked back to Abby and started to feel an overwhelming feeling of guilt.

He placed a hand on Abby's shoulder. “I am sorry my judgment has caused you to remember painful memories. I will do my best to refrain from such criticism in the future."

Abby smiled, not because she appeared to have won the argument, but because this elf showed so much concern for her opinion that he was willing to do his best to watch himself around her. She slapped Fidel on the back, letting her arm linger for a minute to show Fidel she appreciated his comment.

Cap gave a small smile at the scene, understanding the potential implications of the heartfelt moment. “Lovebirds, let's go!” Cap called out jokingly. Fidel and Abby immediately withdrew their gaze from each other, each sharing a small hint of embarrassment.

The trio continued to explore the town of Marisali. Fidel felt much more excited to watch the people of Marisali and put his newfound knowledge to work. He witnessed wizards practicing their arcane crafts, often with two to three surrogates teaching a single child of the various ways to obtain the same results. He watched several priests teach several students how to give sermons and lectures in different ways designed to evoke emotion and faith.

He observed children of merchants walk up and down the rows and learn varying negotiation tactics from each stand owner. He witnessed children of the thieves guilds working their various methods, and their merchant victims sometimes catching them. The merchants subsequently taught their children the various tactics involved in snatching a thief.

With his Abby-renewed vision, Fidel was able to thoroughly enjoy the elaborateness of the City of Chaos. He realized the City of Chaos was a misnomer. The city was actually a city of balance. A city where the good and bad didn't hit extremes because the temperament and tolerance of the citizens was sound and within reason. For the first time since he arrived, he considered this city a place he could call home.

Abby, Cap, and Fidel carried on several conversations over their observations of the people, each providing points and counterpoints to discussions. Each learning more and more on how their individual thoughts were different and the same. Each enjoying the company of the other. The sun moved fast that day as the times were good. Before long, the sun was dipping on the western horizon. The trio decided it was time to depart.

As they were leaving the city through the north gate, Fidel turned to Abby. “We must return here when our quest is complete.”

Abby smiled, “Return to the City of the Damned? Are you sure?” She gave Fidel a wink.

Fidel returned the wink. “Yes, the damned fortunate!”

Cap chimed in, “If we survive, I would prefer we head to Marides.” Both Fidel and Abby gave a puzzling look at Cap. “Well, we have been to Marisali together now. Apparently, Abby has been here many times. Fidel, you grew up a bit in Marides and Abby robbed from there as well.” Cap gave a sly look at Abby and smirked at her expected cringe. “That is the city that connects the two of you, and I would also like to feel more connected.” Abby and Fidel looked to each other, both agreeing a trip to Marides would be welcomed and nodded. The trio rode fast to the north, the sun dipping beyond the horizon to their left.

The silvery dwarf made his way through the Oricampan Plains, his ankles deep in the grass filled mud. He headed toward the light in the far distance, his very being summoning him to that place. He did not wear his newly acquired magical helmet. He needed the beacon to reach him and guide him to his master's location. The light grew nearer with every labored step. He could feel his anger building as it grew closer. He finally reached the bottom of a small hill, his footing more solid and the mud lessening. As he crested the hill, he looked down upon the small valley below him.

Rows and rows of tents sprawled before him, a large central tower rising at least forty feet high. Silvery lifeforms were densely populated and moving about their business. The dwarf gasped at the vast numbers, thousands of his kinfolk, all gray skinned and enslaved to this single master. Humans, elves, and dwarves all existing to serve this tyrannical and perverse sorceress. He noticed some large pens on the eastern perimeter of the camp and made his way to the area.

As he peeked through the boards of the pens, his jaw dropped in disbelief. A dozen gray creatures stood as men with faces of bulls, horns included. The dwarf sighed heavily, recalling the legends of minotaurs and their battle prowess. As he turned away, the head of a spear met him. A silvery human stood before him, holding the spear with a request for the dwarf to state his business. The gray dwarf acted happy to see his fellow brother and told the story of Pravas' fall in the Rivolus desert, his subsequent trip to Harlow's Hovel, and his desire to return to his master. The human enjoyed the tale and decided to accompany Noxater to meet with the sorceress. Noxater agreed and put his helmet on, then signaled to the human he was ready to go.

After a few steps, Noxater turned on the human and brought his axe to bear. The human, confused at first, raised his spear and jabbed at the dwarf. The dwarf quickly brought his shield to block and followed with a sidelong swing of his axe.

The human sidestepped the dwarf's swing and performed a sideways swipe of his own, once again blocked by the dwarf's shield arm. The dwarf heard the alarms start in the camp, bells rang warning the camp of the intruder. The camp came to life quickly, the silver army lighting torches and grabbing their battle gear. Noxater knew he had to leave.

The human came on with another jab directed toward the dwarf's head. Noxater dropped into a backwards roll, bringing his shield up to protect his stomach as he landed on his back. The human immediately brought the spear up over his head, intending a downward strike. Instead of completing his circuit and coming to his feet, Noxater laid flat on his stomach and brought his shield up to his back, placing it back in its traveling position.

The spear made contact with the shield and Noxater jumped to his feet, pushing his axe straight out with his uncanny strength, slamming his axe into the human's knees. The battleaxes girth made contact with both of the humans knees, breaking them to a resounding cry of pain from the human. The spear dropped from the human's hands as he fell face first into the dirt.

Noxater raised his axe over his head and plunged it into the human's back, hearing the gurgling sound as the human attempted to scream his final statement of defiance. The dwarf turned and ran south, putting the sounds of the battle ready silver camp behind him.

Pravas Medeis witnessed the battle from the comfort of her makeshift tower. She called out to her assistant, “Release a minotaur to give chase! He would be better suited to pursue the dwarf through the mud.”

Venin, the blue-eyed apprentice, acknowledged the order and made haste to the pens to release one of the minotaurs. Pravas grinned wickedly, her black eyes darkening. Her mind was already playing out the battle of the minotaur and the dwarf, ending with the dwarf's head in the mouth of the savage beast. She watched as the minotaur received his instructions and roared, then charged in the dwarf's direction. Her grin widened more.

The dwarf jogged down the hill and entered the muddy prairie, determined to head south and warn the trio of travelers he knew would be arriving shortly. He made haste through the mud, each step feeling like the earth below his feet fought to pull him in with every stride. The sucking sounds of the mud with every step made him nervous as he knew the sounds could be heard from afar.

He stopped for a second to adjust one of his boots, but the sounds of the muddied movements continued. He froze and stared behind him into the distance, seeing a large figure heading in his direction. For the first time since his inception into the world of the supernatural, Noxater felt fear.

The minotaur stood twice as high and wide as the dwarf. He raised his long snout into the air, inhaling the air around him deeply. He stopped quickly and adjusted his stance, squinting into the distance toward the gray skinned dwarf. With a snort, he sprinted quickly toward the dwarf, the mud refusing to take a grip on his hoofed feet.

Less than a dozen feet behind the dwarf, the minotaur stopped again to smell the air and discern the dwarf's location. He snorted loud and dashed toward the paralyzed dwarf, knowing his prey was within just a few strides. He pulled a long-handled battle-axe from his back on his first stride and raised it high above his head.

Something pulled Noxater from his fear-filled paralysis. The sense of danger, perhaps. As the long-handled axe made its way downwards, toward his head, Noxater instinctively grabbed his shield from his back and raised it above his head. The slam of the axe into his shield caused the dwarf to sink a few inches into the mud. The vibrations of the sheer force felt like thousands of needles bore into his arm.

The dwarf reflexively ducked low, almost burying his face into the mud, as he heard a loud whoosh of his opponent's axe fly perpendicular to his head. He continued his forward momentum into a roll, only to hear the axe splatter the mud beside him, large chunks of the watery dirt speckling the back of his head as he rose to his feet. The scared dwarf ran.

The axe came down again, this time Noxater skirting to the side as the minotaur relentlessly pursued. Noxater zigged and zagged, hoping his pattern would keep the monster at bay until he could reach solid ground and could gain some advantage. The more axe chops that missed appeared to make the monster even more angry, giving the creature even more power. The splatters of the mud got larger the more he dodged. The silver dwarf kept running, looking back every once in a while and noticing the creature pursuing him was always just a couple of strides behind.

The dwarf noticed the ground below him was getting more stable, each step coming easier but his breath coming harder. He charged on faster, zigging and dodging, zagging and ducking, until he cleared the mud ladened prairie and was finally on solid ground. He pulled his trusty axe from his back and turned to face his attacker, just in time for a sidelong chop to force him to drop to his knees, avoiding the brutal deathblow.

The minotaur kicked the crouched dwarf square in the face, knocking him backwards into a reversed somersault. Noxater came back to his feet, dazed but with axe and shield still in hand. The bull-faced adversary continued, bringing his axe high for a tree splitting chop.