The Glittering City

Samuel was glad that the rest of the road to the city of Tanwyth was uneventful. Even the occasional encounter with the local wildlife was a tame affair compared to the beasts of the wasteland. Still, even a regular animal or bandit was more than enough to kill them as powerless as they were, so he counted their luck as a blessing. The people of the land were prepared to show them kindness despite their suspicious appearance. As they moved past a hill, the first sign of the city appeared. It was a tall glittering white tower. Even with the perspective of someone who had lived in a city in a different world and had at least seen pictures of skyscrapers and colossal towers, the sheer size was amazing. In fact from such a distance it was hard to truly appreciate the scale. The top of the tower disappeared in the clouds.

“Amazing,” Samuel said. “Is that the Academy?”

“That’s right,” Madoc said. Even his temper seemed to be quelled at the astonishing sight.

“Do more cities have such enormous structures?”

“No. I’ve never seen anything like it. I knew about the tower but it’s actually the first time I’ve seen it for myself.”

Samuel smiled. With such an awe-inspiring work of art, it was not so difficult to imagine the great power that awaited inside. Things are finally starting to look up for me.

Though everything was diminished by the presence of the wizard tower, the city itself was nothing to scoff at. It was much larger than the city Samuel had spent most of his life, though admittedly that wasn’t saying much. He knew there were metropolises much larger than the city before him but he had never seen them. Another big difference was the enormous wall surrounding the city, it was easily over 10 metres tall and populated with many distinctive towers and bastions. It was hard to tell whether the walls were surrounded by a great moat or if it was an actual river. Either way a large lake was situated near to the city. The air above the city shimmered in a peculiar way as if it was separate from the air outside. The illusion disappeared in a moment. What was that?

“All right, it’s time for us to get cleaned up,” Madoc said.

“Huh?”

“We’re filthy. It was useful for us to not arouse any suspicion and pass you off as a local but that won’t work any more when you will be spending a lot of time with the same people. Also, I doubt the guards would let us enter if we looked like the kind of people who disturb the peace. Come on.” Madoc pointed at a small stream.

The water was clear and cold. A gasp escaped Samuel as he washed his face.

“Wash your clothes as well. Try to scrub out as much as you can with just water,” Madoc said and began removing his clothes.

“Wait,” Samuel said.

“What? Don’t tell me you’re squeamish about nudity.”

While it was a somewhat uncomfortable notion, that wasn’t his main concern. He could keep his necklace in his pocket and it would in all likelihood stay there while he washed his clothes but it wasn’t a chance he was willing to take. Good Idea Madoc, maybe I’ll play it up.

“Look, I’ve been deprived of pretty much everything at that pit. I just want to have a moment of privacy. I’ll just be behind that large boulder over there,” Samuel said and pointed.

“Whatever. Suit yourself.” Madoc shook his head. He seemed disgruntled. Does he know? Maybe I should have just told him about it. It’s too late now.

Despite the privacy he was able to enjoy, Samuel still took care to never leave the necklace out in the open, hiding it in whatever piece of clothing he wasn’t washing at the moment. The washing presented more of a challenge than he had anticipated. With cold water and no soap, not to mention a single hand. Just another thing I’ll have to get used to.

After they were done washing, they put their clothes on a sunny rock and sat down. They enjoyed the tranquillity of the warm day and passed much of their free time in silence.

“How long were you there?” Samuel asked.

“In the wasteland? I’ve lost count but I’d say about twice as long as you, perhaps three times. What brought this up?”

“Just wandering. It seemed many people lost their will to fight quite a bit earlier.”

Madoc grimaced. “I’ve never been one to give up after I’ve put my mind on something.” There was a glint in his eyes. It was the same hunger that Samuel felt as well. We’re so close to it.

What Samuel really wanted to ask was where Madoc had come from. Is he from my world? It would make sense given that he had spoken the same language. The problem was that he would also have to answer the same question and despite everything they had been through together, he didn’t know whether he could trust him. I trusted Jarek. Even if I didn’t like him, I still knew him since our childhood. This guy I’ve known for weeks, or is it months already. Sorry Madoc, I cannot.

The large gate, one of the many in the wall of the city, was large enough for a dozen horsemen to ride through abreast. For the moment though, only a small portion was opened, enough for a decently sized cart. Twin octagonal towers stood watch over the gate and there were many openings for the defenders in case of a siege.

“Next,” the guard at the gates bellowed. The line of people shuffled a single spot forward.

“Are you sure they will let us in?” Samuel asked.

“Not particularly,” Madoc said. “All the same it’s worth a try. If nothing else we will at least find out what we will need to enter.”

It took more than an hour for them to take their place at the gate. The guard looked them up and down with a sneer.

“Not traders I imagine,” he said.

“No, we just wish to enter the city,” Madoc said.

“I can see that. Do you have a letter of passage?”

“No.”

“Someone who can speak for you inside the city?”

“No.”

“Money to pay the entrance fee?”

“No.”

Samuel deflated with each successive answer. The guard looked bored. He likely handled scum like them every day and felt little sympathy towards them.

“In that case I will have to ask you to leave,” he said.

“Wait. We can use our weapons in place of the fee.”

“Oh?” It was more of a sarcastic response than a genuine question. He looked at the long line of people whose displeasure was increasing by the minute. “Well then let’s see.” He took the dagger from Madoc and the axe from Samuel, though he almost seemed reluctant to come close to him. Madoc then helped Samuel take of the shield and it was added to the pile. “Horrible condition. There are almost worthless. Take them and go away.”

Samuel could see a snarl appearing on Madoc’s face. “Wait. Howel has sent us.”

“Huh? Who?” the guard asked.

“Haul and Ivor,” Madoc corrected.

At that the guard jerked back. “What? How do you two know of those two?”

They gave a brief account of their escape from the wasteland. The guard looked at the weapons again.

“I see. In that case it makes sense that you brought these. Fine. I will allow you to enter. However, if you cause any kind of trouble, I will personally make sure you regret ever being born. Understood?”

“Yes,” both of them stammered the response.

“Especially you with the weird hair. Move it!”

“I can’t believe that really worked,” Samuel said. Madoc murmured in agreement.

The city was even more impressive from the inside. Stone buildings loomed over them on both sides, while the alleys were still wide enough to be bathed in the afternoon sunlight. While most of the traffic on the streets were just regular people going about their business, there was a substantial number of wizards among the crowd. Their clothing alone made them stand out, yet that was only a small part of it. They were accompanied by flying books and other objects and even artificial humanoid constructs. One of them just sat on a small cupboard as it floated past them.

“This is it,” Madoc said. “The real power and it will be mine.”

Samuel couldn’t help but agree, even though it was obvious that Madoc wasn’t really talking to him. He soaked in the wonders before him. Everything was beautiful. The streets were clean and even the stone walls seemed to reflect the light.

“Hey watch it!” As he was looking around he bumped into a random passer-by and both of them were knocked to the ground. A sound of laughter came from behind. “Shut it Yorath,” the girl said.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you,” Samuel said and began gathering the scattered items that she had dropped. He handed her the items and then stared.

“Thanks,” she said. “What are you staring at?” she added after a moment with a look of annoyance. Then she noticed the missing hand and winced away. If everyone will look at it like that I might as well start farming some sympathy from it. It was more of a surprise that she did a double take after looking back up and noticing his face. Are my hair and eyes really that strange to these people? From what he could see most of the people in the city had dark brown or black hair. His was more of a strawberry blond, which perhaps stood out a little but he thought it was hardly reason enough for people to take notice. Over the time in captivity it had also grown quite long, though that much seemed to be fairly common in the current world, much more so than in his home world.

“Sorry, are you a wizard?” She wore a robe similar to other wizards they had seen in the city, but less elaborate and newer. Her companion wore the same. She was straightening a pointy hat that fell during their collision and put it back on her head.

“That’s right,” she said and puffed her chest. “I, Arianwen, am on my way to becoming the greatest wizard in the whole kingdom. Perhaps the whole world. She crossed her arms and smiled. However, the rim of her hat drooped over her face and she had to fight to get it to make it stand in the correct position. Yorath was rolling his eyes and sighing.

“The classes haven’t even started yet Anwen. Your declarations may be a little too optimistic,” he mused.

“Oh yeah? We’ll just see about that. I’ll have you at my mercy within a week. Mark my words.”

“Excuse me,” Samuel tried to cut into the conversation but they continued on as if he wasn’t even there. They continued chattering and having mock arguments as they walked away, enveloped in their own world. “Huh. Strange people. Are all wizards like that Madoc?”

Madoc lifted an eyebrow at that. “I don’t know.”

“Right. I just thought that perhaps a certain amount of eccentricity could be expected from someone using magic.”

“I guess that could make sense, but I don’t really think so. Anyway from what those two were saying, they aren’t actually wizards yet. Anyway, what were you trying to ask them?”

“About the Academy of course. If they are new, they should know how to get in. We wouldn’t want another situation like at the gates,” Samuel said. Madoc scowled at that. “Just saying. I mean, do you know how to get in?”

“No.” He continued walking in a sour mood.

They made their way through a park, where countless flowers in wonderful colours swayed in the wind. Some of them seemed unnatural, yet all that beauty was dwarfed by the central aspect of the park. A large tree with leaves as colourful as the surrounding flowers and orbs of light instead of fruit. It has to be magic.

On the other side of the park they passed a double row of larger than life statues of men and women wearing wizard robes and carrying staves, books and other items.

As the day drew to a close, the duo took on a couple of odd jobs to earn enough for a meal and a bed at an inn. Even without being familiar with the layout of the city, it was easy enough to make their way towards the Academy, as they walked towards the gigantic tower.