Book Two - Chapter Five

They had arrived in the city of Larsev a few days after leaving Mirewood. Larsev was the largest city in the area, and one of the largest within the kingdom of Ostia. It was not as large as the likes of Gavamir, but it was still home to countless mortals. On arrival, Ander had insisted on heading straight for a guard barracks to inform them of what had happened at Mirewood, and Lusya had not objected.

“They were last seen heading north from Mirewood a few weeks ago,” he said to the guard who was listening as they stood before the building. It was little more than a gray stone box with a few windows and one door. Aesthetics had obviously not been a major concern in its construction. “I know it’s not a lot to go on, but I thought I should report it anyway. They might still be in the area.”

The guard, a tiransa man just under ten feet tall, with darker gray skin than was typical, nodded as he scribbled notes on a page. The pen seemed to be meant for human use, and he had to delicately handle it with the tips of his fingers. He finished writing with an unnecessary flourish and looked up from the page at Ander.

“Thank you for telling us,” he said, his voice deep and gravelly. “I’ll make sure to pass it up the chain. I’m not sure how much we can do, but we’ll take the situation seriously.”

Ander smiled. “I’m just glad I could help. Take care.”

“You too,” the guard said. “Be careful, by the way. We’ve seen an increase in theft in the past month or so, both in frequency and severity.”

“We’ll be on guard. Thanks for the warning.”

They shook hands, and Ander returned to the carriage as the guard retreated into the barracks.

“Wow,” Ariya said. “You were so calm. I still think tiransa are a little scary.”

Ander chuckled. “Well, there’s a lot living in Nordhem too, so I can’t exactly afford to be scared. I probably was when I was your age, though.”

That wasn’t surprising to learn. It was expected, in fact. There were many countries ruled by tiransa in the northeast, and even those that were governed by humans had a substantial tiransa population. Tiransa had always been more willing to mingle with humans than retli were. Likewise, despite—or perhaps because of—the more obvious physical differences, humans had often displayed a greater affinity for tiransa than for relti.

Ostia, though it was near the center of the continent, slightly southeast, was much the same. Ostia had been close enough to the fighting that she had known as much, and, though Mirewood had been predominantly human, the mixture was plain to see here in Larsev. Around half the crowd flowing through the streets was composed of the large, gray forms of the tiransa. That posed a challenge, in a way. Even sitting in the carriage’s driver seat, it was difficult to see around them sometimes.

“I don’t suppose you two had anything specific you wanted to do in Larsev, did you?” Ander asked as he urged the horses onward.

“I was planning to purchase more supplies,” Lusya said. She had not bought much in Mirewood. More of a buffer would be helpful.

“You don’t need to do that,” he replied. “We have plenty.”

Luysa cocked her head and blinked. “I would still like to.”

“Be careful,” Ariya whispered, though she was easily audible sitting between them. “She’s annoyed with you.”

“Why are you telling him that?” Lusya asked. Ariya had already done that a few times in the past few days, informing Ander of what she presumed was Lusya’s emotional state unprompted. It had not posed any issues thus far, but it was a strange behavior.

Ariya smiled. “He asked me to.”

“I see.”

The child’s fear of the carriage seemed to have subsided. She spoke freely and no longer clung to the bench, though she chose to hold Lusya’s hand instead.

Ander sighed, reached into his coin purse, and handed Lusya a single golden coin.

She cocked her head and blinked twice as she accepted it.

“Confused!” Ariya announced.

“You don’t have to do it every time,” he said with laughter in his voice before refocusing on Lusya. “You don’t want to depend on my supplies, right? You don’t trust me. Well, there, a gold coin all to yourself. Exchange it whenever you want. With that, you can buy whatever you want whenever you need to, so you don’t need to waste time shopping here.”

“I see,” Lusya said. “You have my appreciation.”

She tucked the coin away in her own coin purse. It was true that, with that much money, she was unlikely to end up in a situation where she did not have and could not acquire what she needed. Even if Ander disappeared, she would be able to restock at any town, so long as she had it changed to silver and copper beforehand. Even if she did not, she would be able to buy what she needed with the single coin, though that was best avoided. She doubted many merchants would refuse to accept it if she insisted, but most of its value was sure to end up wasted. There was no way she could buy a whole gold coin’s worth of supplies in one go, and a rural shopkeeper may well not have had enough money to return even half the appropriate change.

Ander grinned. “You’re welcome. With that taken care of, why don’t we have a walk around town? There’s bound to be something interesting to see in a city this big.”

“Yeah, let’s do that!” Ariya exclaimed.

“That is acceptable,” Lusya said. They were staying the night in Larsev anyway, so they weren’t losing any time by sightseeing, though it was not something she would have proposed.

“Let’s get ourselves a couple rooms and get started, then,” Ander said.

A city this size had plenty of inns to choose from, so it took them little time to find one. With Ander’s ample funds, they ended up at a more high-class, and expensive, one than Lusya or Ariya were accustomed to, named “The Bard’s Retreat.” Lusya had no inclination toward such luxury, but no objections either.

The food was better—in theory, at least—the tables were adorned with fine cloth, and musicians played at all hours of the day, filling the dining room with the sounds of their voices and instruments. Even the layout was different than normal, designed so the rooms overlooked the dining room from a balcony of sorts.

The rooms themselves had heavy doors and thick walls, keeping out most of the noise for those trying to sleep. They were more spacious than was typical, and the beds were larger—easily enough to fit two adults sleeping abreast—and softer. Aside from that, they were ordinary. Except for the beds, the only furnishings were a couple chairs and a desk. There were even more luxurious inns, where each room was a miniature home unto itself, with wardrobes and sofas, even tubs for bathing, with hot water supplied on request. That, however, would have been overkill for a single night’s stay. The Bard’s Retreat was already more than was needed.

They didn’t spend long taking in the atmosphere or amenities, however. They set back out as soon as they had their rooms.

From there, they wandered about the city for some time. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, but Lusya supposed it was novel after so long in the countryside. The tight-packed buildings of stone were a stark contrast to the sparse villages and the nothing that separated them.

The city did have some notable aspects to its architecture. Lusya had noticed on the way in, and it had been evident in the design of the inn as well. Buildings were larger, with higher ceilings, than was normal for a city like this. A one-floor home seemed to be perhaps fifty percent taller than was typical for human-dominated regions, and this increase carried over into additional floors and the breadth of buildings. Accordingly, doors were larger, and some had multiple handles for people of differing heights. Even the roads were wider, and, though still closer than in any village, the buildings were a bit farther apart.

Unlike the likes of Gavamir, much of this city had been constructed with tiransa in mind, although some buildings did not bear those signs. Older ones, perhaps. Lusya understood that, in historical terms, the prevalence of tiransa in this area was recent.

It was interesting to see, but easy to acclimate to. And, once she did, Lusya stood by her conclusion that most of the city she had seen so far was unremarkable. Tiransa were large, but it was not as if the city had been built to accommodate giants hundreds of feet tall. Things were just slightly larger in general. Nothing amazing.

Ander and Ariya seemed to disagree. They looked about, wide-eyed and mouths agape, gawking at every tall door and wide alley and exchanging fervent impressions of everything’s size.

“Woah, that one’s huge!” Ariya exclaimed as they passed a random house, pointing at the door.

Ander gasped. “I know. Who knew a door could even get that big?”

They had had around a dozen exchanges like that in the half hour since leaving the inn.

That was strange for Ander, in particular. With Nordhem having a large tiransa population, Lusya would have thought he would be accustomed to such sights.

“Does Nordhem take a different approach to accommodating races?” she asked after he had joined Ariya in wondering at the size of what seemed to be barbershop.

He looked at her blankly, as if he had not heard her, then he chuckled. “Oh, no, it’s pretty much the same, but it’s been a while, you know?” He jerked his head in Ariya’s direction and winked. Lusya had no idea what that meant. She was familiar with the concept of the conspiratorial wink, but what specific message he was trying to convey was a mystery. “I’ve gotten used to human-sized stuff.”

She gathered that was not the full explanation and that his true motivations had something to do with Ariya. It was obvious he did not want to speak the truth in front of her. That was suspicious, but his actions did not seem harmful, so she resolved to keep an eye on him and let the issue pass. After an hour or so of ooh-ing and ahh-ing, Ander pulled them to the side of the road to stop.

“Well, that was fun,” he said. Ariya let out a whoop in apparent agreement. “Now that we’ve taken it all in, is there anything specific you wanted to see?”

“I assumed you had something in mind,” Lusya said.

“Yeah, we don’t know anything about this place,” Ariya said. She spread her arms about in a broad gesture. “Other than that everything is super big.”

Ander let out a nervous chuckle, scratching his head. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. I got a little ahead of myself. Well, let’s go by eye then. See anything interesting? The walls, or maybe a tower that looks cool.”

“The walls don’t seem as cool as Gavamir’s,” Ariya said, frowning.

It was true, though Lusya would not have used the word “cool.” Ironic as it may have been, Larsev’s walls were not as large and imposing as Gavamir’s. They were, however, plenty functional for the city’s defense.

“Oh, you’ve been to Gavamir?” Ander said with an appreciative nod. “How cool. Well, anything else?”

“I saw this cool white building over the tops of the other ones,” Ariya said. “I think it was that way.”

“I don’t have any better ideas,” Ander said with a shrug. “Let’s go.”

Ariya let out a loud, long yawn. “I’m tired, though. Lusya, can you carry me?”

“Aren’t you a little old for that?” Ander asked.

Lusya blinked. “It is not necessary at the moment.”

“Please?” Ariya asked, pouting with her eyes as wide as they could go. “My legs are so tired, they feel like they’re gonna come off.”

The obvious hyperbole aside, Lusya saw little point in arguing the matter. And the fact remained that Ariya was tired. That did seem to be the truth, if exaggerated, based on her slumped posture and obvious effort to keep her eyes open. Ignoring that could become problematic.

“Very well,” Lusya said.

She knelt and Ariya all but leaped into her arms.

Ander chuckled as Lusya stood. “You’re such a pushover for her.”

“Is that so?” Lusya asked.

“It’s kind of obvious…”

“Shush,” Ariya said and stuck out her tongue at him.

“It is of no concern,” Lusya said. “Let us find this white building.”

They moved in the general direction Ariya had indicated until the building came into view, allowing them to navigate to it. It was rather distinctive, painted snow white amid a sea of brown and gray. The building was long, tall, and thin, with a spire at either end and in the center. It towered over most of the buildings around it, but they were noticeably smaller than the rest of the city. The white building was still larger than most buildings, but it would not have been as striking elsewhere in Larsev. The spires, however, did tower over most anything else in the city.

There were a few guards posted around the perimeter of the building, but none of them moved to stop Lusya’s group as they approached, and they were able to enter without issue.

What the building was remained unclear as they walked the inside. Some of the paintings and symbols were reminiscent of a temple, though few from any religion Lusya was familiar with. However, such things seemed too scarce for a proper temple, and there was no room that seemed suitable for prayer or assembly. Nor were there any grand displays of devotion to any gods. No massive statues, or any sign that there ever had been as much.

There was some writing on the walls, but it was in an unfamiliar language to Lusya. It bore no resemblance to Slarvish, the language spoken throughout much of the southeast, and also the most common language in Ostia. Nor did it resemble any of the neighboring languages she knew of.

It did look a bit like Talsian and other northwestern languages but trying to parse it as such yielded little more than gibberish.

“Wow, this place is really pretty,” Ariya remarked, before coughing into Lusya’s shoulder. “It’s dirty, though.”

There was quite a bit of dust. With plenty of people walking about much as they were, Lusya could only assume it was intentional on some level. Perhaps for preservation purposes. This place was obviously a historical site of some kind.

The sightseers were of all races, though mostly human and tiransa. Based on the smaller buildings around it, Lusya guessed the building had not been designed with tiransa in mind. The marks of its seeming importance, however, made it suitable for them regardless, with soaring ceilings and grand doors large enough for half a dozen humans to walk abreast through.

“What is it, though, Lusya?” Ariya asked.

“I do not know,” Lusya replied.

“Well, there’s an easy way to find out,” Ander said. He stopped and tapped a man gawking at a painting on the shoulder. “Excuse me, but do you know what this place is?”

The man whirled, his eyes wide, as if Ander had attacked him. After a moment of stunned silence, the man let out a breath.

“You scared me,” he said, one hand on his chest.

Ander chuckled. “Sorry.”

“You want to know what this place is?” the man asked. “I’m no expert, but I think it’s a building of the Odessian Empire, if I remember correctly. It used to be some kind of government office. It’s been used for a bunch of stuff since then, but Count Blezik loves this kind of thing, so he made it off limits, even the grounds around, except to study and admire. Anyone’s allowed to come in and do those things, though.”

“Count Blezik?” Ander asked.

The man chuckled. “Oh, sorry, you’re not from around here, are you? Count Blezik is in charge of pretty much the entire south of Ostia. Short of the king, he’s basically the most powerful guy around.”

“That would do it. Thank you.”

Ander walked away and continued down the hall with Lusya and Ariya.

“The Odessian Empire, huh?” he said.

“What’s that?” Ariya asked.

“A large empire that conquered much of Ysuge,” Lusya said. “It collapsed approximately one thousand years ago, but it is said that its language and culture formed the basis for modern ones, particularly in human-ruled nations.”

“That about sums it up,” Ander said.

“Wow,” Ariya said, grinning. “This place is awesome!”

“It is interesting,” Lusya agreed.

Ander nodded. “It’s a real piece of history, isn’t it?”

They continued to tour the building a bit more, before leaving. There was a makeshift marketplace not far from the building, though not directly in front of it. The market was likely meant to capitalize on the crowd without running afoul of this history-loving count’s rules.

Though they did not need to shop, they ended up stopping when they stumbled upon the market. It dominated a square where several roads intersected, with dozens of stalls scattered about and merchants standing outside the permanent shops on the edges, trying to flag down passersby.

The market was more spacious than many of its type, for the same reason as the rest of the city. Under ordinary circumstances, Lusya guessed the tiransa being accommodated would have neutralized any breathing room that might have provided. At the moment, however, the crowd was relatively thin. Perhaps it was due to the time of day, or perhaps the market was a recent development that most did not yet know of. Or maybe it just was not popular. Whatever the case, while there was almost always someone in arms reach, there was some room to maneuver and weave through the crowd as needed.

“Oh, I want a snack,” Ariya said, bouncing excitedly in Lusya’s grasp. Someone weaker may have dropped her. “Can we get something?”

“I suppose,” Lusya said.

“Count me in,” Ander said. “There’s just something about street food.”

Lusya blinked. “I would not expect that from a nobleman.”

He shrugged. “Good food is good food. Who cares how classy it is?”

“I agree,” she said. “I did not think you would.”

After a bit of searching, they found a stall selling some kind of meat wrap. There was a makeshift stove set up to quickly warm the ingredients, though it seemed they had been cooked elsewhere in advance. The smell was rather appetizing, Lusya would admit.

“Three,” Lusya said as they reached the stall.

The woman at the front nodded and repeated the order back to the man behind her, who started heating things up.

“It’ll be just a minute,” the woman said, smiling.

Ariya gave a strangled humming sound, then sighed. “You can put me down now. I don’t want to get grease on you. And I don’t want it to be hard for you to eat.”

“I am capable of carrying you and eating at the same time, and my clothes can always be cleaned,” Lusya replied. “But if you are certain, you may walk.”

She lowered and let Ariya down on the ground. Ariya smoothly moved to stand by Lusya’s side, grabbing her hand.

The woman at the stall giggled, smiling an unfamiliar smile at Ariya. It did not seem fake, if Lusya’s assessment was correct, and it was happy, but there was something else she could not place.

The man moved forward and placed the wraps, themselves wrapped in a bit of paper, on the stall counter.

“Oh, there we go,” the woman said. “That’s one copper each.”

Lusya reached for her purse, but Ander stopped her. “I’ve got it.”

He handed the woman the coins, and she pushed the wraps a bit farther forward, into easy reach. Lusya handed one to Ariya, then took one for herself, while Ander grabbed his.

Ariya bit into hers with ravenous force, grease dribbling down her chin.

“It’s so good,” she squealed.

The woman chuckled. “You two must have had her quite young. Or maybe not, if you’re a reltus.” She raised on eyebrow and looked to Ander. “In that case…”

Lusya cocked her head, blinking twice.

Ander turned bright red and sputtered in incoherent, broken syllables for a moment.

“W-we don’t have that kind of relationship,” he managed to say at last. “And she’s not our daughter. Well, she’s not mine, anyway.”

“She is not mine either,” Lusya said.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” the woman said. “I shouldn’t have assumed—”

“Stop, thief!” a man’s voice cut through the din of the market. “Someone stop him!”

The man shouting was rounding another stall in an attempt to push through the crowd. He saw little success, being a large tiransa. He could have cleared the way with ease, but he seemed to be taking care not to harm any humans in the crowd, slowing him. Another, smaller figure seemed to be ahead of him, though it was difficult to make out any details as they couldn’t be seen over those around them.

“I’m going,” Ander said. “I’ll be right back.”

With that, he leaped onto the roof of a nearby building and began running along it, scanning the crowd for the thief. He seemed to spot them as they broke out of the market, and he jumped to another rooftop, then down to the ground to follow them.

“He can do that too?” Ariya exclaimed.

“I suspected his motomancy was sufficient for such feats,” Lusya said.

“Never mind that!” Ariya shouted, despite being the one who had raised the issue. She pointed toward where Ander had landed, though he was no longer visible past the crowd. “You have to go help him.”

Lusya cocked her head and blinked twice. “He should be more than capable of handling a common thief.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Ariya said. “You should still help. We’re here anyway.”

That was true enough. There was no reason to risk upsetting Ariya. This wouldn’t take them out of their way in any significant capacity.

“I will pursue,” Lusya said. “You will come with me.”

Without waiting for an answer, she scooped up Ariya again and jumped onto the rooftops.