Chapter 102: First Advanced town (Third Part)

I didn’t stay still for that long after Ilan’s departure.

His words were convincing, but I had to make sure of a few things before accepting his explanation.

First of all, I checked the nature of the imposing black building he had entered. It was easy enough to learn that it indeed belonged to the Mercenary guild. However, as I was almost totally clueless about how this kind of group operated inside an Advanced town, it took me much more effort and many questions from guards, sellers, and pedestrians to have a clearer picture.

The first thing I learned was that this Mercenary guild was independent, meaning the city was not directly responsible for it. The main role of this branch of the mercenary guild was to list and rank — according to their strength and experience — the mercenaries willing to work. The jobs from the Advanced town, from individuals, or sometimes directly from the Dorell Kingdom were also gathered in this building.

All in all, I didn’t need to learn all of that, but it still made something pretty clear.

The Mercenary guild was trying very hard to stay neutral and far away from any kind of interference.

Thus, it definitely wasn’t the best place to report Alianelle and try to get a reward for this information. Going straight for a slaver — and Ilan obviously knew at least a few in this city — or for administrative buildings made more sense if he wanted to denounce her. Of course, it could still be possible, but unlikely which was — along with Ilan’s explanations — reassuring.

Certainly reassuring enough to put a temporary end to my investigation.

I couldn’t do much more today anyway.

The zenith was long gone and soon the sun would set and if there was one thing I didn’t want in addition to going to bed without a meal, was to wander in an unknown town in the dark. So, after thanking the last merchant I had interrogated, I finally made my way back toward the inn.

Most of the numerous shopkeepers — a little too many for the number of customers going through their wares — were putting away and tidying up their stalls. Their day of labor was over, but not mine apparently as I had more trouble finding my way back to the inn than I would like to admit.

My poor sense of orientation wasn’t entirely to blame as my investigation had led me far from the mercenary building. All the unfamiliar streets looked the same to me and the few guards still patrolling them made this long forced stroll less than welcoming. Maybe it was because I was a child in an Advanced town where few children lived and where even fewer were out so late on their own, or maybe the novice guards, constantly staring at me as if I had stolen their grandmother’s purse, were wary of me simply because my distinguishable hair made it obvious that it was the first time they were seeing me.

Whatever the reason for their caution may have been, be it because of inborn prejudice or simply because of the current worrying state of the wilderness, their almost constant stubborn gaze fixed on my back made me long for my arrival even more than my empty stomach growling in rightful protestation.

Unfortunately, the city itself didn’t help me in this endeavor.

After several going back and forth and nearly an hour of wandering, I helplessly noticed that this city was strangely built.

For example, many streets and stairs led to dead ends while many buildings were built nearly on top of one another, sometimes even almost completely blocking perfectly usable roads. If I had to make a guess to explain this strange architecture, I would put my bet on the fact that the city had grown too much across the years without being able to expand beyond its impenetrable walls.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, I found my way back and returned exhausted to the inn.

The enticing odor of food I had smelt when I first entered this building was gone, but the noise coming from the door near the clerk's deck didn’t let any doubt that they were still serving meals. However, before I could make my way there, the stout man behind the counter beckoned me to come closer.

Not knowing what to expect, I relented and approached with heavy steps.

“You’re the one they call Sillath, is that right?” the man asked in a business-like, borderline uninterested, voice.

“Yes, I am,” I slowly replied with suspicion and worry starting to build up inside me.

“Paul gave me a message for you.”

“A message?”

“Yes. He has already left my establishment and has given me the strict order to deliver this message only to you.”

I gaped stupidly after hearing his explanation and seeing the small piece of paper he was holding in his hand.

Paul and Alianelle were gone.

Some could think that Paul had refused to use the room generously paid for by Ilan, but I knew better. For the same reason that pushed me to follow Ilan and interrogate half the city for the past few hours, Paul was also worried that Ilan would betray them and sell out his daughter’s secret. So he changed inn, probably hoping that it would prevent any sudden betrayal from taking them completely unprepared.

I couldn’t say I disagreed with his idea, although this kind of trick was a temporary solution at best.

The small folded paper he passed to me only contained a few words on it: ‘The end of the world.’

“You didn’t read this?” I asked with distrust as a small flame made the piece of paper immediately combust between my fingers.

“I certainly could have, but I didn’t,” snorted my interlocutor. “Your friend’s choice to leave is of little interest to me as I don’t do any refund, no matter the reason,” he explained while already turning his back on me as if his interest had already waned immediately after the end of his mission.

With a vacant room already paid for, he surely didn’t have anything to complain about.

Once more, wishing that I had created a magic able to tell the truth from lies, I exited the building after informing Jazor that I probably wouldn’t be back before dark or even until morning. Something my dwarven friend, slumped in his bed and already smelling of cheap alcohol, didn't seem that interested in.

However, just before I closed the door behind me, he still addressed me a few words in a serious and surprisingly sober tone: “Don’t get yourself into trouble.”

Hoping that I indeed wouldn’t, I finally left the inn behind.

—----------------------------------------------

As I had feared, the night had already started to fall when I resumed my search. The numerous shops I saw previously hinted that the activity, and by extension the number of people, was normally more than honorable here in daytime. However, without a doubt because of the abnormal situation in the wilderness these past months, the number of actual customers and inhabitants was far less than what I had expected.

Such a situation was doomed to be even worse at night.

This realization only confirmed itself as I roamed the deserted streets in search of someone able to give me directions. Cursing the lack of night activities and seriously considering turning back to resume my search tomorrow, I finally met an old man walking as quickly as he could with his short legs and hunched back.

First unwilling to stop, it took a few minutes of a proficient kid-acting to call on his slumbering humanity for a lost kid and have him explain to me the way to this inn justly called ‘The end of the world’.

Definitely a fitting name.

Fortunately, this section of the city was a lot less messy than the part I had explored during the day. It took me less than half an hour to reach a decrepit wooden building with a twisted sign above the front door also made of wood.

It didn’t take me long to find Paul’s room, thanks once again to my lost-kid act. Not willing to underestimate my acting skills, I still had to admit that the fact that the employee didn’t care one bit about the privacy of his customers may have played the biggest part in my success.

After climbing stairs so dilapidated that I was starting to worry if I wouldn’t simply go through the floor, I reached the door of Alianelle’s and Paul’s rented room. Before I had the time to wonder if I had effectively found the right one, I heard familiar voices inside. My name was clearly quoted and made me want to wait a few more seconds to hear what they had to say about me, but I pushed down my curiosity and vigorously knocked three times on the door, ending the voices inside in an instant.

The cacophony of fumbled steps and murmurs that followed were impressively indiscreet.

“It’s me, open!” I declared after long seconds of patient waiting from someone who had spent his whole day roaming the streets on an empty stomach.

Once more, silence abruptly returned inside.

The eye that appeared at the door gap was Paul’s. Wary and trying to see to the other end of the corridor to know if I was truly alone.

“Let him in, dad,” came Alianelle’s exasperated voice inside.

With an embarrassed clearing of his throat, Paul finally completely opened the door and walked aside to let me enter their modest room. Alianelle strangely had the bed’s sheets messily wrapped around her, something she obviously found quite awkward if her reddening face and elusive gaze were any indications.

A single sweep of my eyes at their miserable room told me that they didn’t come out as winners in their inn’s exchange. Smaller and dirtier, than the room where Jazor was probably already snoring like a king on a big bed, this room had two small beds side by side next to a massive worn down carpet sufficiently old and dirty to convince me to keep my shoes on. The lone squared window on the right side of the beds was so dirty that I had trouble seeing outside while the two filthy buckets under it and a strong, constant, musty odor completed this wonderful picture.

“Lovely, don’t you think?” asked Alianelle with a voice literally dripping with sarcasm while continuing her fight to keep her slightly yellowed blanket properly wrapped around her.

I previously lived with her for a full month and knew for a fact that Alianelle wasn’t a very materialistic person. Their farm inside the previous Advanced town was modest, to say the least, but it certainly wasn’t that dirty, something the young girl apparently found difficult to easily accept.

“At least, it’s safe,” countered Paul with a tired voice that made it clear that it wasn’t the first time he was repeating this sentence. “Tomorrow, I will look for someone I used to know — who should still be leaving here if we’re lucky — and ask him to host us for long enough to organize our safe passage inside the Dorell Kingdom.”

“I know,” she replied just as exasperated, although it now appeared more due to her losing fight against her blanket than a complaint about their room.

“Can I take this off now, dad?” she asked pleadingly, confirming my assumptions.

Paul checked for the third time that the door was properly locked and inspected the rest of the bedroom with an attentive gaze as if he was expecting to find a new door or a window he had previously missed. Confronted with her father’s growing paranoia, Alianelle finally had enough.

With a huff of indignation and relief, she let go of the blanket, revealing at the same time why she had it on all this time.

Her crystal-looking wings on each side of her waist immediately unfolded themself as if stretching out after spending too much time-constrained by either this blanket or by tight bandages during the day. The motion was so lifelike from solid-looking wings that it made me wonder if Alianelle could really move them as she pleased.

Before I had the opportunity to ask her, I noticed that her wings had almost doubled in size since the last time I saw them. If Alianelle couldn’t move and fold them easily, we'd better find another way to hide them quickly as our little improvised trick of tight bandages and loose cloth would soon prove ineffective.

“Cover yourself better,” admonished Paul while I was lost in thought with my gaze fixed for a little too long on her.

“It’s alright like this, isn’t it? I don’t want to fold them if I don’t have to and I don’t want to ruin another shirt,” Alianelle immediately complained, clearly reluctant to restrain her wings once more or make holes in her shirt to allow them to pass through.

Indeed, her wings — located on the lower side of her waist — were lifting her white linen shirt, revealing at the same time a good part of her belly.

“I don’t mind, Paul,” I started.

“I’m sure you don’t,” immediately interrupted this overprotective father making me almost snort in response.

This body was too young for this kind of thing and my soul too old to have any kind of improper thought for her so I simply sighed tiredly and let his comment slide.

“Don’t we have something more important to talk about?” I finally pointed out.

Both Paul and Alianelle immediately forgot this clothing story and focused on me.

“Did you find anything?” cautiously asked Paul. “Anything suspicious?”

“Not really…” I began as I summarized the events of the day while glossing over the details of how laborious this investigation truly was.

Probably not totally convinced, but reassured for now, Paul heaved a sigh of relief he had apparently been holding this entire time and heavily sat down on the closest bed making its frame dangerously crack in protest.

Alianelle tried to hide it, but I noticed in the corner of my eyes that she was just as relieved as her father. Although she wasn’t as demonstrative, she understood just as much as him how vital it was for her true nature to remain a secret.

Apparently not enough for Paul as he spoke once more his worries out loud.

“You really should cover yourself, Alianelle,” he advised bossily.

“But, Sillath doesn’t mind. You don’t care about my wings, right?” she immediately replied, with a side glance at me probably afraid of what my answer would be.

Discrimination against Beastmen tribe members was widespread among the Human population of the Dorell Kingdom. Ever since her true nature had been revealed, she appeared concerned that my attitude toward her would change because of that even if she never spelled it out.

Of course, her worries were unfounded.

However, she also misunderstood her father’s concern if his face was any indication. He didn’t care too much about me seeing her slightly undressed, but the very presence of those wings appeared to make him uncomfortable.

“Don’t worry, I don’t mind,” I replied with a small smile. “And you shouldn’t either, Paul. It’s safe here, I made sure of that,” I added to reassure her father, still unnaturally distressed.

My magic sense was formal: no one was hiding on the roof, under the window, in the corridor, or even under one of the beds, too small to hide anyone anyway. In fact, the entire inn was almost completely deserted except for the old owner downstairs and a couple of clients occupying two adjacent rooms on the far end of the corridor, far from this room right next to the stairs.

Not really surprising considering the lessening number of travelers in the whole city and the more than questionable quality of the rooms available.

“Thank you, Sillath, but I can’t relax. Not yet. Not while we’re inside this city!” he reaffirmed. “The first Advanced town is the worst on the continent for our kind and I would have never set foot inside again if I wasn’t forced to.”

“Because there are many slaves here?” asked Alianelle, clearly influenced by Paul’s worries.

“Not only because of that,” he retorted. “No matter how many Dwarves or Humans roam the street bossily as if they own the entire place, this city is above all else a Ryunno clan city. It’s only because of them and their monstrous influence after the war that it was created decades ago and things haven't changed one bit ever since. This clan controls it in the shadows, so under no circumstance can we let Alianelle’s true nature be revealed.”

“Surely, you’re exaggerating,” nervously laughed Alianelle.

“Sadly, no. If anyone finds out, you can be sure that the Ryunno clan will quickly hear about it no matter what. No one would be crazy enough to try to hide this truth from them. Don’t forget both of you. Only Beastmen may have chains here, but Humans and Dwarves are the Ryunno clan’s slaves just as much as us.”

Paul made a small pause after these words as if wanting to let us properly digest his previous words.

“And you Alianelle, never forget: you’re hiding first and foremost from the Ryunno clan,” he concluded heavily with a severity difficult not to take seriously.

I listened to his admonishment to his daughter in uncomfortable silence as I had the disagreeable impression that I shouldn’t be here to observe this family matter. I even took a few steps back behind Alianelle to make my presence less known in this intricate room before finding the right moment to leave. However, Alianelle — who had sensed my motion — suddenly caught my harm with her soft hand.

Gently but firmly.

Our eyes met and I knew she wanted me to stay.

So, I complied and accepted to be pulled back to the center of the room just next to her.

“So it’s best if the both of you don’t linger here for too long?” I asked awkwardly, trying to disperse the heavy atmosphere.

My question didn’t ask for an answer as it was more a conclusion than anything else, but Paul still nodded his head in confirmation. However, even though he clearly understood the underlying meaning behind my sentence, he didn’t say a single word, leaving me no choice but to ask my true question out loud.

“So, what are your plans for leaving the city?”

Alianelle’s face was as readable as mine apparently as I had no trouble immediately understanding that this was a question she didn’t have an answer to.

“It’s best if you don’t know,” replied Paul smoothly. “Both of you,” he immediately added to put an end to his daughter’s expectant gaze on him.

This Advanced town was the end of our respective journey inside the wilderness.

We each had our respective plans.

Jazor intended to rejoin his hometown near the red mountain in the south while I intended to enter the Dorell Kingdom and rejoin Tegralle in the east. For this reason, we would part ways soon. I had already decided to take Seth and Himara with me after buying their freedom back at the grand auction that will normally take place in a few days.

However, I had no idea what Paul intended to do or where he wanted to seek shelter.

He was certainly right to want to keep his plan strictly to himself. I never intended to pry into his business until now. However, after careful consideration over the past few days, I decided that there was one thing I needed to propose to him.

“Would you like to come with me to my hometown?” I suddenly asked, clearly taking him by surprise.

Before the wrath of the wilderness forced us to flee for our lives, Alianelle and I both expected an impending and probably definitive separation. For better or for worse, this future never came to be. My parents weren’t able to reach the Advanced town in time before it was devastated.

I never asked them to accompany me before, mainly because I wasn’t sure what I would find when I returned or if my family was even safe. However, whatever plan Paul had before Alianelle woke up surely underwent a drastic complication with the need to hide her growing wings from now on.

“It’s a small peaceful town on the eastern side of the Dorell kingdom,” I supplemented, seeing Paul strangely silent.

“What is it called?”

“Tegralle.”

“I… I never heard about it, but if it’s on the eastern side then… Is it close to the capital?” he asked suspiciously.

“Yes, it is,” I confessed. “But, it’s a calm town outside of noble influence,” I quickly added before he could object automatically.

Both Paul and Alianelle stayed frozen. One because he probably didn’t know what to answer to this sudden proposal, and the other clearly waiting impatiently for her father’s response.

“Listen, Paul,” I spoke again to put an end to this uncomfortable silence. ”I left this city nearly five years ago so I have no way to know if everything is as I left it. I don’t know if it’s still safe and I don’t even know if my family is still alive or still living there. However, when I lived in this small town, there was a known Beastman young girl living there among the Humans without any trouble as far as I could tell. All I know is that I will take Seth and Himara with me and that you’re both welcome to tag along.”

“It's dangerous near the capital,” remarked Paul.

“Not in a small, inconspicuous town. My father is a former noble and he was able to hide in this city for years without any trouble from any other noble house. The area doesn’t have many natural exploitable resources, and is as a result peaceful and free from noble influence.”

“What if it’s not safe anymore?” he grumbled anxiously.

“Then, I will find another place,” I simply replied.

With my magical abilities, surviving on my own inside the wilderness was a real challenge, but settling and making a living incognito inside a calm hamlet of the Dorell kingdom was more than possible for me.

I didn’t know if my added explanation had any significant effect on Paul as he appeared as indecisive as before, but it certainly had on Alianelle. On the other hand, if Paul’s hesitation had any merit, it was that it confirmed my suspicions: his previous solution was no longer as feasible with Alianelle’s growing wings.

Something he confirmed with his next words.

“To be honest, I know a safe place on the Northern side of the Kingdom, but it’s far and difficult to reach. It would have been feasible before Alianelle’s wings started to grow back, but now I’m not sure anymore. They haven’t finished maturing. They will continue to grow and with them her quantity of mana and her ability to use it. As long as she has neither the control over this mana nor over the physical movements of her wings, it will be difficult to travel such a long distance with just the both of us.”

Paul’s confession didn’t seem to ease his decision as he took his time to think once again. Finally, after nearly a full minute of silent pondering, he gave me his answer.

“It’s kind of you to propose something like that. I don’t have much money and both Alianelle and I have little means to defend ourselves. But, you’re forgetting something. We would expose you to danger if we came with you.”

“I know.” I simply replied without flinching.

“No, you don’t,” immediately countered Paul. “We would expose you and the children to more danger than you can possibly imagine,” he deplored with fatalism.

Alianelle’s left wing, extended just behind me, was moving erratically and involuntarily rubbing against my back after my proposal. It made me wonder once more what these solid-looking feathers were made of to be so soft to the touch, but hard enough to pierce her clothes like daggers when they weren’t properly folded. However, this movement stopped as soon as Paul’s last words left his mouth as if she had finally realized what her presence along with the existence of these wings may mean for me and the children.

“To be honest, it would be a great help for us to travel with you. Even if in the end, your town can’t act as a shelter for us, Alianelle would still have had enough time traveling with you to perfect her control over her new abilities. Enough to better hide them for the rest of the trip anyway. However, I need to tell you the truth first.”

“The truth? You mean…”

“Yes. The whole truth. I have been lying for so long now that it became natural for me, almost like a second nature. I started lying to you the moment we met, Sillath. I’m sorry about that. I really am, but you gotta understand that I didn’t have any choice.”

“Did you?”

I was certainly surprised to hear such words of apology from Paul. However, the fact still remains that because of his lies and his betrayal to hide these lies, he nearly caused his own and his daughter's demise. No one can know what would have happened if he had chosen to tell a part of the truth to me or Alianelle sooner. However, the result could have only been better for it was a miracle that both of them were still alive and together to repair their relationship.

“You will be the judge of that I guess, together with Alianelle. You already know what I… what I did to her for years to hide her nature. I already confessed it to her, but just like Alianelle, you don’t know the full story.”

“Am I really supposed to hear this?” I asked, suddenly worried about this confession.

“I don’t know anyone else other than you more deserving of our trust, I see that now. I’m sorry it took me so long. Both Alianelle and I would be dead without a doubt without you, be it inside our Advanced town or inside the wilderness. I must thank the sky for the day Alianelle brought you back with her to sleep under our roof and share a meal.”

“I…”

Seeing my troubled, reddening face after being confronted with these kinds of words, Alianelle chuckled beside me while Paul also sketched out a smile.

The first one I had seen on his face in a long time.

“Don’t worry, this doesn’t commit you to anything. If after hearing our story, you decide to change your mind and prefer if we go our separate way, neither Alianelle nor I would hold it against you. You have already done too much for any kind of resentment to exist between us,” he finally declared what I could only describe as his heartfelt feelings.

I had risked my life for them to be safely reunited so many times across our journey, that seeing them perfectly fine here still appeared a little surreal to me. This was proof that everything I had gone through in my two lives wasn’t in vain.

It made me want to protect them for a little longer and make sure that they would truly be safe.

However, Paul was right. The true meaning of these wings escaped my understanding, and with it the full knowledge of what I would have to confront if they came with me. All I knew was that Paul had poisoned her for years to prevent these wings from growing back, but I didn’t know what they represented or what would happen if she was discovered.

To make my choice I needed to hear the truth about the secret behind those wings that Paul had hidden for so long.

So I simply nodded to Paul. It was the only signal he needed to take a deep breath and address Alianelle and me in a deep voice, already heavy with the truth he was about to unfold.

“Listen, Sillath… Alianelle... This is my story.”