Chapter Four - Accommodations

“From the ground to the top, there are seven levels,” Thale said, leading them to the nearest staircase continuing the tour. “The bottom floor is where all the main assemblies are held. Floors two, three, six, and seven are residential floors. These are what we call cabins, they’re reserved for those under the employment of the Alldelan government. Some even use them as their primary residence. The sixth-floor cabins are much nicer than the others, they’re reserved for the senior staff, usually commanders and those above them. The fourth and fifth floors are reserved for the marketplace, infirmary, the meeting hall for the senior staff, the residential representatives’ offices, the library, and others like them,” Thale led them down the staircase. “As you know, the entire citadel is a self-sufficient structure. If necessary, the outside world can be abandoned entirely and Alldel can inhabit just the citadel. Alldel has grown a lot over the years, and so it would be rather a tight squeeze these days, but it could still be used that way.”

Adric had to admit that he was having a tough time focusing on Thale’s guided tour. His attention kept wandering to the glistening lamps mounted decoratively on the walls or the gold lining throughout the carpets. The attention to detail in this place was astonishing.

The stairs opened to long landings which made way for the floors beneath them. They walked until they reached the fifth floor. The walls were carved from stone, other rooms were branching off every five feet or so down each hallway. Adric began to wonder just how big this place was and then reminded himself that this was practically a city.

After walking for a couple minutes, they turned into one of the rooms. There were more lamps positioned in iron sconces neatly along the upper ends of the walls. Wooden cabinets lined each wall and stood from the floor all the way to the ceiling. Adric noticed three more wheeled ladders, just like the one in Elric’s barn. There was a desk positioned in the center of the room which faced the doorway, and the room smelled strongly of old paper. There was a good reason for this, Adric noticed as Thale opened a large cabinet positioned at the other end of the room revealing mounds of papers and old books stored behind the doors of each of the cabinets. Thale rifled for a moment through a book with a large numeral six plastered onto its spine. Thale coughed briefly as dust erupted from beneath the page that he lifted, and then handed each of them a piece of paper. It looked like a map of the citadel, and it had a strange encryption on the bottom. Adric’s paper read, 6.3.14. He looked over at Gaden’s paper. He held an identical map, but his encryption read, 6.3.17.

“The numbers you see at the bottom are your assigned accommodations. The first digit indicates the floor level, the second indicates your corridor. The last figure is your cabin number. Odd numbers are on the left, and even numbers are on the right. I tried to keep you as close as possible. King Wystan insisted that his cabin be no different than any of the others, so the citadel has no throne room or special quarters for the king.”

“Now, hold on just a minute,” Gaden interrupted. “This tour has been great, and I’m happy to do my part to help bring Karina back. But I have a family, they’re expecting me back in the morning. Adric has responsibilities at the smithy in Eladin. What are we expected to do, drop everything and just move our lives to Aelwynn – to the citadel no less?” Gaden complained.

“Elric told me you have a family. There’s no need to worry, you’ll have plenty of room to accommodate them as well.”

“I’m sure we will, but that’s not the point. You’re asking us just to leave behind everything we know in our lives and camp out down here.” Gaden’s insolence toward the Steward of Alldel wasn’t lost on Verrik, who stepped forward, but paused at a meaningful glance from Thale. “I’m grateful for the gesture, really I am. It’s just a lot to expect of us without any warning,” Gaden said, backing down from his aggressive front.

“Gaden,” Thale said, calmly, “We aren’t asking you to abandon your lives in Eladin. Of course, we are asking you to consider joining the ranks here in Aelwynn. But we have plenty of officers who hold lives in the surrounding cities. Elric is one of them,” Thale looked to Elric, who nodded in agreement. “You possess a lot of talent we could use. Adric is the heir to the throne. We are simply trying to accommodate you as best we can to encourage you to work with us.” There was a moment of silence, and then Thale clapped his hands together as if to end the conversation. He looked at them momentarily and then spun around on the spot. A short, plump lady had just walked into the room. Thale grinned at her when she walked in.

“Hello, Thale,” she said as she entered.

“Bara is our bookkeeper,” Thale said and then paused for the briefest of moments, as he took in the disarray of the room, and then, realizing that Bara was watching him intently, moved on.

“You should feel lucky,” Bara said to Adric, “Thale never pulls records for anyone on his own. He always gets me to do it for him.”

“These men are very busy,” Thale said, cutting her short. He walked them out the door. Quick footsteps echoed passed them and Adric turned to see who was running their way. A clumsy teenage boy was making his way directly toward them. He waved to Adric and Gaden and then tripped over his own feet as he confronted Thale. Verrik hung his head and massaged his temple as if he were ashamed of the boy.

“Sir, excuse me, they need you in the training room,” The boy told him. He stumbled over his own words.

“Thank you, Daea, tell them I’m on my way,” Thale said. He turned to Adric and Gaden, “This is actually very important, I’ll have to leave you two here. Feel free to settle in and explore the citadel. I’ll meet up with you later,” he said.

“I guess I should go with you,” Avan said. Thale nodded, and they left together. Ivar and Oneas bowed to them and departed as well.

“That was my son, Daea,” Verrik told them. “I need to go with him. Just go to the sixth floor. You’ll find your cabins there,” he smiled and ran off after his son.

“And just like that, they’re all gone,” he rolled his eyes. “What exactly are we supposed to do now?” He asked. Adric shook his head.

“I guess let’s check on these cabins they assigned to us,” he said. Gaden sighed and followed him. They walked back to the staircase and back up to the sixth floor. “There’s number five, the next one is number four, so ours should be just over there,” he pointed to large wooden plaques mounted to the tops of the doorways. In the center of each plaque was a large numeral carved onto its face.

They walked down to hallway number three and turned in. The path was lit by covered lanterns hanging from the wall. The ceiling was stone like the walls. It was very much like walking through a tunnel. They walked until they reached Adric’s cabin on the right. They could see Gaden’s was almost directly across from Adric’s, but Gaden did not leave Adric’s side. Adric reached for the iron handle and pulled. It was locked. He looked at Gaden, whose expression was just as blank as his own.

“Don’t look at me. I’ve never been here before.” Gaden held up his hands. Right on cue, hurried footsteps echoed from behind them. They turned and found the same teenage boy running toward them.

“Mister! Mister, uh… sir!” Daea was obviously lost for words. “You forgot… I mean, Thale forgot… I mean, Lord Thale forgot… Well, I mean, I didn’t mean that, I mean you didn’t get your keys,” he held out a sweaty hand, and each of the two keys fell to the floor with a clatter that echoed around them.

“Oh! I’m so sorry, let me get them for you, mister, uh… mister… well…”

“Adric.” Adric finished for the boy. The boy let out an unmistakable, gulp, at the sound of Adric’s name, and then dropped both keys again.

“You’re Adric? As in, King Adric… oh but you’re not the king yet, not that I don’t accept you as my king…” Daea trailed off, knowing he had said too much. Adric’s eyes widened. “Oh! I’m sorry!” The boy hit the floor as fast as he could get onto his knees and bowed so low his head touched the floor. “Forgive me. You are so…” But what Adric was, he never knew. At that very moment, and not any too soon, a booming voice rang through the hall.

“Daea! What do you think you’re doing? Get up, you clumsy boy, get up! You embarrass me!” Daea rose quickly. An imprint of dirt pressed firmly against his forehead. Daea handed Adric the keys to their cabins.

“I’m sorry,” Verrik said to them, “My son has clearly forgotten himself,” he said, and turned, steering Daea away from them. “And wipe the dirt off your face. What were you thinking?” Verrik could be heard saying as they walked away.

“Wow,” Gaden said in amazement. “He is really…” Gaden clearly couldn’t find the right word.

“No kidding.” Adric tried the first key, but the lock didn’t turn. “This one must be yours,” he handed the key to Gaden and tried the second. There was a faint, click. Adric pushed the iron handle, and the door swung open.

Inside, there were several chairs around a large table in a long room to the left. To the right was a sitting area and a place for a fire. Adric wondered how high these chimneys must be. Crimson chairs sat on a rug around a small table in front of the fireplace which stretched to the top of the ten-foot-high ceiling. He looked down the hall past the sitting room. Three more rooms were branching from the hallway, each equipped with a bed, set off by small tables on either side. There was an equipped kitchen on the other side of the sitting room. Looking around, there was no question; this place Thale had called a cabin was more beautiful than his own house. He looked at Gaden, whose mouth was hanging open.

“Wow,” Gaden said and sat down on one of the chairs in front of the fireplace. Adric examined his key. It was heavy and worn. It looked as though it had once been rammed into the keyhole and pulled out quickly because it was slightly bent along the shaft. The dull, gold finish was starting to peel around the teeth. He flipped it over. On the reverse side, the numbers, 6.3.14 were engraved onto the flat side of the key handle. He pocketed the key and sat beside Gaden. The chairs were firm but pleasant.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Adric looked around the room. No detail had been forgotten. Everything was just right. The plants on either side of the fireplace were lively and colorful, though they were not the rare Lorlean Dance that decorated Elric’s hallway, they were still full of beauty. Old paintings hung on the walls, and the room smelled pleasantly fresh.

“How do they do it?” Gaden asked.

“How do they do what?”

“These cabins are underground. How do they keep it so fresh?” Adric merely shrugged.

Adric was thinking things over. It was all so much to process in such a short time. Everything he had known seemed different somehow. Could it all be real? Could everything he had read about since he was a child actually be true? So many times, he fell into a story which concluded as fiction, but this time was different. He was starting to believe that there was quite a bit more truth to this tale than myth, but he wasn’t convinced he was ready to accept the consequences that would follow. Adric heard his door click open. He jumped to his feet, not expecting a guest. It was Elric. He had two bags thrown over his shoulder and he was smiling. Yet again, his smile was warm. It seemed to light the room and ease the tension. You just couldn’t help feeling relaxed with Elric. He just had that way about him. Almost as if he were a long-lost brother Adric always knew he had. Elric set the bags down in the corner of Adric’s sitting room.

“Thale told me to bring you these, and he wanted me to apologize for leaving you. He left you a note inside. I need to get back to my house for the day, the horses need tending. Actually, Karina was going to help me today,” Elric told them.

“So, you’re the horse keeper?” He asked.

“Yes, another job. I supply the military’s horses. That’s why I have a house on the outside. So, I can work on reconnaissance, and tend the horses.”

“I like that. I enjoyed riding down here.”

“Horses are a passion of mine.” Elric grinned. “Make yourself at home. If you have any questions, there’s nobody here that won’t be glad to point you one way or the other. I’ll be back first thing in the morning to escort you back to Eladin,” he bowed to Adric and turned to leave.

“Elric, one more thing,” Adric said.

“Anything.”

“Don’t bow to me. I am not yet the king, if ever I will be.” Elric laughed, and then nodded. He turned again, but before he got the door closed, he opened it back up.

“You know, Adric, people only bow to you because they have respect for you. You are who you are.”

“I know,” Adric said. “But I haven’t earned their respect, yet. None of my family have,” he told Elric.

“They respect you for who you are, for coming back, and being with them. That’s something that hasn’t happened in centuries, even if you abdicate, you still came back. These people grew up learning that you were their king. If you grew up, having been taught the same, would you not do likewise?” Adric couldn’t think of what to say. “I know it’s hard. I can’t imagine how it feels to have all of this given to you in one day. There isn’t anyone here that I wouldn’t trust with my life. And I’ll tell you this Adric; if you ever need anything at all, king or not, I’m just a quick ride down the field. Elric winked that cheery wink at them once more. He grinned and closed the door behind him.