Reunion at the Merchant Caravans

The rest of the ride to Omstadt went smoothly. After discussing possible plans with Liam, Reagan slept until the hum of the detection spell marked their arrival. It only had enough time for one crescendo before someone stopped it.

Muffled voices spoke outside of the wagon. Reagan listened, but he couldn’t make out what they were saying. He nodded to Liam, who poked his head out through the wagon’s wall.

“Dietfried’s not here,” he said as he returned. “I’ll check a little further out.”

To Reagan’s relief, Liam returned a few minutes later with a smile on his face, saying, “No Dietfried, but I found Elisa.”

Alan entered the caravan before Reagan could respond. “We’ve arrived. I’ll be heading to the capitol building to “renew” my amulet,” he said, giving Reagan a pointed look. “And I’ll be staying in town for a few days while merchants load their goods for Vierdorth. If you need anything during that time, come find me.”

He held the curtain back for Reagan, then, as Reagan dropped to the ground, he said, “Your cousin is waiting for you over there,” and nodded to his left. “Take care of yourself, Alois.” He held out a hand, and Reagan shook it. Within seconds, he’d wiped the worried look from his eyes and moved away to tend to his horse.

Turning on his heel, Reagan followed Liam to Elisa, who stood beside one of the empty caravans at the front of the group. The other horses had already been stabled, leaving a group of colorful wagons guarded by one man who looked half-asleep.

She smiled and waved as Reagan and Liam approached, and a wave of relief washed over Reagan. If anything, she looked better than the last time Reagan saw her. She still wore the coat she’d borrowed from Aislinn, but beneath it, she had on a light blue dress and a pristine white blouse. The fabric had a luxurious sheen to it, like velvet, and it fit her better than her previous outfit.

“It’s so good to see you,” she said, looking Reagan up and down as though checking for unseen injuries. “I was surprised to hear you’d be coming here…” She trailed off, looking around.

Several townspeople milled about, all dressed in extravagant outfits and jewelry. Women wore lavish dresses with embroidered patterns, men wore layers of velvet and silk in bright, saturated colors. Almost everyone Reagan saw had something gold: necklaces, earrings, bracelets, rings. One man even walked with a gold cane.

Reagan shrunk under their gazes, feeling as out of place as a cat in a pond.

“You look nice,” he said to Elisa.

“Thank you,” Elisa said with a wide smile. “My old clothes were covered in blood, so Ronan insisted on finding me something else to wear and gifted me this. As it turns out, Braiden’s late father was Ronan’s mentor, so having saved Braiden helped me a lot here.”

Aware of the curious gazes of the townspeople around them, Reagan shifted uncomfortably. “Maybe you can show me around town,” Reagan said, cocking his head toward Liam.

Liam nodded and checked the path ahead, returning swiftly to lead them forward. With the crowds of people always present, it was impossible for Reagan to speak, so Liam recounted the last few days instead, starting with the barrier failing and ending with their conversation with Alan.

“And since the librarian had said the royal archives were the only other place to find any books on magic…” Liam said, trailing off.

“I wanted to come see you here and help you settle in,” Reagan finished, keenly aware of the people glancing his way. A prolonged silence could look suspicious, so he felt grateful to Liam for opening an opportunity for him to speak. He glanced into the open window of an opulently decorated parlor and saw a man and woman seated on a red velvet couch. Neither seemed to notice him, but he had no doubt they could hear him.

Liam continued where Reagan couldn’t. “We just need to find a way in, but once we get that far, Alan showed us the layout of the building, so we should have no trouble finding the archives, if we can get our hands on one of the keys, that is.”

“That sounds great,” Elisa said. She was looking at Reagan, but responding to Liam’s words. “I don’t know about what furniture I’d need, but I already have an idea of where I would want to stay,” she said. “I’d love to show you the way.”

Liam didn’t miss a beat. “You have a way into the building?” he said, his eyes wide.

“Would you?” Reagan said. He wanted to feel relieved when Elisa nodded, and he wished to return her smile with a genuine one, but he couldn’t shake the fear pulsing through his veins. In every face he passed, he looked for his godfather. In every pair of eyes watching him, he feared a flicker of recognition. If even one person knew what he looked like…

But nobody said a word to him or Elisa as the pair walked toward the less occupied portions of the town. Elisa led them to the small residential streets on the outskirts of town, where the merchants lived. During the day, it was far less occupied, because most of the merchants were busy peddling their wares, so only a few children and their guardians milled about.

Here, the clothes were more modest, and Reagan didn’t stand out as much, but still, he couldn’t relax. He glanced into each alleyway as though awaiting an ambush and flinched at every curtain that rustled in the chilly fall breeze. The shadows scared him almost more than the people.

Liam took to the skies above them to ensure Dietfried was nowhere in sight, and he guided Elisa and Reagan to a narrow, dimly lit alleyway between two empty homes.

Reagan rested against the wall while Liam checked the surrounding areas. It was the first time all day Reagan was able to take a breath without looking left and right to see if it would be his last.

“I haven’t seen a single sign of Dietfried or the mages he was last traveling with,” Liam said upon returning. “I’ll check closer to the capitol.”

Reagan nodded gratefully and watched him leave. I need to find something here, he thought. I owe so much to him.

“What’s your plan for getting into the building?” he asked Elisa. Even without Liam to keep watch from above, he felt safe enough to whisper. He hadn’t seen another person since they’d turned down that street, and he doubted anybody was close enough to the alleyway to hear his low voice.

A sad look fell over Elisa’s face, and she frowned as she said, “I met the ghost of a mage -- a real mage -- while I was being interrogated. He was so kind to me and kept me company during the entire interrogation, even reassuring me that everything would be okay. In exchange for sending him away, he told me how to access the capitol building through a secret passageway. It was originally meant as an escape for the royal family, back when they occupied the building, but it hasn’t been used since parliament took over, or so he said.”

Reagan nodded slowly. “Where does it start from? And where in the building does it lead to?”

“One exit is in the fountain square in the center of town: one of the lion statues has a false base, and you can climb down into the passageway from there. Inside, it should lead to a small hallway on the ground floor, right outside where one of the children’s bedrooms used to be. It was meant as an escape route in case of an assassination attempt, he said.”

Wonder how much good that did them, Reagan thought bitterly. He cleared his throat and replied, “That sounds like our best chance. This mage, was he also…?” He didn’t want to finish the question.

Elisa looked down. “Around the same time as Liam, apparently.”

The assassinations probably started with those closer to home… Reagan thought.

“He didn’t really talk about his death,” Elisa said with a faraway look in her eyes. “But he’d been stuck in the building for so long… At least he’s at peace now. It’s not much, but it’s better than nothing.”

Reagan nodded, and a silence settled between them as they rested until Liam’s return.