They were finally within the city.

  “Where to now?” Zhi asked.

  “It might behoove us to get a feel for the city. It is a large place and information about Belaran could be found anywhere within it.” Simeon replied.

  “So more walking?” Zhi asked.

  “I'm afraid so.” Simeon replied.

  “Somehow I knew this was to be my fate.” Zhi said as she began walking down one of the many streets.

  “My love, where are you going?” Nanaua asked in a concerned tone.

  Zhi turned around with a smile.

  “If we are walking more then I want to be the one deciding our route at least once. So follow me!” Zhi said as she turned back and kept on walking.

  Corin and the others obliged. Walking within the city was an alien experience for him. He had been in large towns before. Trinixo’s largest town, Delfe, was much bigger than Ankur. And just recently he had passed through the dwarven town right outside the mines, which seemed comparable if maybe a bit larger than Delfe. But Yranto was on a completely different scale.

  Along every direction Corin looked he saw streets paved with stone stretching into the distance. Along every street there was activity like he had never seen before. A constant, mass of moving furtives, with features that Corin had never seen before, occupied the street. These were all occupied in various activities, from peddling wares, transporting items, children playing, cleaning streets, engaged in brawls, patrolling the street. It did not matter where he looked Corin saw activity.

  Along these same streets Corin saw row upon row of buildings lining the streets, with no rhyme or reason for their design.

  Some of them were made from white stone, and these ranged from about as tall as Corin's home, to more than ten times that height. He had never seen buildings this tall in his life. Some of these also had ornate carvings in front of them, depicting various furtives. Many of these stone buildings were seen concentrated along a single street and most furtives along this street seemed to be moving along, with no specific activity taking place in the street itself.

  Elsewhere Corin saw buildings made of fiery red brick. These were more common and spread throughout the various streets. From this a variety of activities could be seen. Furtives coming in and out with various wares, shouting coming from inside as furtives sold items, furtives that could barely stand on their own two feet being kicked out of many of them.

  There were also a variety of wooden structures that Corin saw, all in different conditions. Some of them seemed to be sturdy and well maintained. Some of these structures seemed to be used to sell wares, some as saloons, but most of the wooden structures Corin saw seemed to have furtives living in them. There was an odd variety in these types of buildings and who Corin saw in them. Some of these buildings only had wooden poles supporting a roof and those within it would go about their business as if no one could see in them. Random mixtures of furtives could be seen coming in and out. Corin saw dragoors, humans, dwarves, Siren like furtives, forest elves, furtives that looked like birds. The state in which these wooden structures were in varied wildly. Some of them seemed as if they could withstand the strongest winds conjured up by a Dragon, while others left Corin perplexed about how they were still standing.

  The rest of the group seemed to be equally as engrossed as Corin in observing Yranto. Even though he had only recently heard about this place from Simeon, Corin did not know how to reconcile the actual place from the image he had built up in his mind.

  They came to a stop in front of a building that was offering cooked meats with bread.

  After looking around for a while Simeon turned to the group.

  “Shall we?” Simeon asked.

  The group offered no protest and they were soon sitting down with warm food in front of them.

  Nanaua was the first to speak after taking a bite.

  “Eh, Corin your meats are better cooked than this one.” Nanaua said as she continued biting down on her food. “The meat is too tough and too dry and the flavor is very bland.”

  “Well Corin is a really good cook. It is hard to compare other foods to his cooking.” Livia chimed in.

  Livia had always complimented his cooking and would let him take care of it in their house. He was happy to take care of the hunting and the preparation of the meat while she would fix up their house.

  Corin felt bittersweet about the compliment. He was happy they enjoyed his cooking. But he was not enjoying the meal he was having.

  “How did you learn to cook so well Corin?” Zhi asked.

  “My brother Cyril taught me.” Corin said.

  “Oh I'm sorry.” Zhi quickly interjected.

  “No, it's ok.” He said as he smiled. “It's ok Zhi.”

  “But he actually was taught by our mother. Our father would spend a lot of time away at sea with the sirens fishing. Cyril was too young to join him so he would stay with my mother. A lot of what I learned through Cyril was from my mother.” Corin said.

  Livia held Corin's hand as he spoke. She looked at him and he back to her.

  “Your father would fish with those sirens? How is that even possible?” Nanaua asked.

  “Well it was a dangerous endeavor.” Corin began. “As you know sirens move underwater with the same ease we do on land. They would not let anyone join them on any expedition, but it seems as if my father was the exception.”

  “My brother said that when he went out they did not know when he would return. It could be within several hours or several days. But there was something within him that loved the sea. It challenged him more and more as he got older, when I was born he was already close to middle age. But nothing would deter him. Even if he knew it was dangerous he would go back to it every time. He knew that one day he would not return from the sea and that is exactly what happened. I only have faint memories of seeing him, but I do remember the time he left for the last time.”

  “Hmph, to spend your last moments engaged in what you love?” Nanaua said. “If I were to be as lucky to decide how I would go, I would want it to be in the field of battle.”

  “Nanaua…” Zhi began.

  “It's ok Zhi. That is exactly how my mom saw it too.” Corin said laughing. “She was sad that he passed, but she was happy he died doing what he loved.”

  “But what of your mother?” Nanaua asked curious.

  “It was an illness.” Livia interjected. “It swept through our village and took many lives.”

  “My sincere apologies, friend.” Nanaua added softly.

  “Again Nanaua no need to apologize. I was lucky to have Cyril to help me, and eventually when Simeon washed aboard on land he made sure that Cyril and I didn't get into too much trouble.” Corin replied.

  “And yet with my guidance you demolished Dell’s barn. Cyril and I spent days tracking sheep throughout the island.” Simeon added.

  “Oh that's right I forgot!” Corin said as he began laughing.

  He began laughing so much that it took him several moments to calm down.

  “One time one of the farmers near us, Dell, and Cyril had a disagreement.” Livia began. “Corin here thought it would be a good idea to scare some of the animals in his barn with a loud explosion as a warning. He asked me for some help crafting the explosive and I agreed to help, because I had no idea what his plan was. Since he didn't tell me what it was for, and I was still very much learning how to make these, I went overboard on the dragon powder. Well turns out that the little device I built was really strong and the thing blew out the roof and the doors off the barn! As soon as that explosion went off my dad went looking for me, because he knew that I was the only one in town who would've made something like that.”

  Throughout the entire story Corin was on the verge of tears. Simeon too laughed as he put his hands on his face and shook his head.

  “I feel bad saying this but those animals were definitely not the same after we got them back for Dell. The sight of Corin made them so panicked that you would think the end times were upon us! We had to tell Corin to go stay indoors while we rounded them up. And Cyril tried his best to be serious when speaking to Dell about this, but the second we left his property to look for those animals he laughed so much that he had to lay on the ground to catch his breath.” Simeon added.

  Zhi laughed along with them, while Nanaua had an intrigued look upon her face. It was clear she was listening to the story to see what other relevant details there might be.

  “How about you Nanaua? Who were you raised with?” Livia asked.

  “I was not raised with my kin. From the moment I was born I was assigned to be a member of the Lord's Protectorate.” Nanaua said.

  “Oh so that's how you became a Lord's Protectorate?” Livia followed up.

  “Yes.” Nanaua said. “All members of the Lord's Protectorate are assigned at birth. Those that are selected live in a separate section of the Lord's domain. Within there the art of battle is inculcated in us. Those that survive to the age of thirty become part of the Lord's Protectorate.”

  “You have to do that for thirty years from the moment you are born?!” Corin asked bewildered.

  “Yes, is that strange to you?” Nanaua asked perplexed.

  “Well yes. But that explains why you're so good at fighting.” Corin said.

  “It is a similar process for Kishtros. But within them they inculcate the art of death.” Nanaua explained.

  “So there were never any funny moments? No pranks?” Corin asked.

  Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

  “A prank?” Nanaua asked.

  “Well did someone ever do something that they were not supposed to do? Something that made you laugh?” Corin asked.

  “Hmm, ah I remember.” Nanaua began. “One time another pupil, who had a disagreement with one of the instructors, took it upon himself to fill the instructor's helmet with rotten eggs. When he put it on in front of the class the eggs fell all over his face and onto his clothes. He smelt of rotten eggs for a long time.”

  Corin began laughing. “Oh that's funny.” He added.

  “Yes. When they identified the perpetrator, he was eaten alive by Tonatiuh in front of all the Lord's Protectorate and the pupils.” Nanaua said.

  Corin instantly stopped laughing. “Oh.”

  “What of you old man?” Nanaua asked Simeon. The curiosity within her could not be sated.

  Corin tensed up. He knew the answer. He had only heard it once. He tried to steer the conversation away from that.

  “It's late we should-”

  “Once, I had a wife.” Simeon began. “We had a son.”

  He turned to Corin now. “He would have been only a bit older than Corin.”

  He took a moment to compose himself.

  “I, er, I made a mistake once in the mines. And they paid for it.” He finished.

  That was all that Simeon said. He looked down. The conversation at the table ended. Corin placed his hand on Simeon's back. Zhi reached across the table and held Simeon's hands.

  “Their cruelty is not your fault.” She said to him.

  “Thank you.” Simeon said with tears welling in his eyes.

  “What were their names?” Nanaua asked determination burning in her eyes.

  Corin was surprised. He thought Nanaua would cease with her questions, but this went beyond mere curiosity. Corin didn't even know this himself after knowing Simeon all these years.

  “My wife, her name was Penelope. My son, Leander.” Simeon said.

  “I see.” Nanaua said.

  She stood up and grabbed her pike.

  “When I go into battle I think of those that have been victims of the Titans.” She said as she held onto her pike with both hands, holding it perpendicular to the floor.

  “Whenever I need something to dig into to keep myself going, I think of those the Zifors killed in Grial, of the victims of Arandu, of Tonatiuh's victims. Now I will keep your loved ones in my heart too, Simeon, as I strive to strike fear into those that continue this oppression, and to give hope to those that suffer. When I enter battle, their spirit will help guide my blade. I promise you this.” Nanaua finished as she put the pike back on the ground.

  Simeon teared up at Nanaua's declaration. He got up and walked over to Nanaua. He them embraced her in a tight hug. She seemed surprised at the gesture, but she did not back away from it.

  After their embrace Nanaua seemed shocked.

  “Is something the matter Nanaua?” Simeon asked. “I'm sorry if I went a bit overboard, but your words really got to me.”

  “No, nothing is the matter.” She spoke as if still in a trance. “Before I met Zhi I had never shown or had any affection shown to me. But now I have all of you as well showing affection for me. I don't know what that is supposed to mean.”

  “It means we have a family Nanaua.” Zhi spoke up as she looked around them.

  Nanaua was silent as she looked around.

  “Is that what this is?” She replied as she looked around.

  Corin and Livia looked at her and nodded.

  “Zhi's right.” Livia added.

  The concept was so strange to her that she never thought about how it would impact her. She had brothers and sisters in arms before, but beyond there was no interaction beyond the field of battle. She turned to Simeon who had placed a hand on her shoulder.

  “Family is more than ties of blood. A real family provides guidance, reassurance, and will do their best to support you. That's what you have here.” He added.

  Nanaua looked around once more.

  “Family.” She said as she smiled.

  ***

  The next task at hand for the group was to find shelter for the night. They did not know how long they would have to stay in Yranto before they found information on Belaran.

  A passing guard gave them information.

  “At the end of town there is a makeshift camp for fugitives.” He said as he pointed down the road. “Once you reach it, if you speak to Captain Fran she will find accomodations for you. Those are only meant to be temporary, so you would do well to find a new place within the city soon.”

  The group followed the directions to the camp. As they neared the camp they could not help but notice the worsening conditions of the buildings around them.

  “Are we sure we are heading in the right direction?” Zhi asked.

  “It pains me to say that this is a clear indication we are headed in the right direction.” Simeon replied.

  As they walked they could feel eyes on them from all directions. From within buildings with destroyed walls, they could feel peers coming through them from the cracks. From those they walked by, from those supposedly engaged in conversations around them.

  Nanaua began to tense up. She began to flex the grip on her pike.

  “Let's not give them any more reasons to stare at us.” Simeon muttered.

  She let go.

  They continued on their way until they could see their destination in the distance.

  There was a clearing in the distance surrounded by wooden fences and up against the large city walls. The guards atop the city walls seemed more interested in what was occurring in the camp than what was occurring outside. Within the fences Corin could see various shoddy structures built with a combination of materials. Wood, mud, bricks, cloth, sticks to keep the sides standing. Around some of the huts activity of all sorts could be seen. Then there were pieces of cloth on the ground where furtives would lay asleep, or attempt to as others around them continued with their activities.

  The camp reminded Corin of the forest elf camp he had left only several days ago, due to the sheer number of occupants. But there were some glaring differences. The first was how much louder this one was. Shouting could be heard coming from all directions as furtives attempted to converse over each other. Then there were distinct areas of the camp that existed as virtual boundaries. Each section of the camp was a separate unit, existing in the same space as the other sections, but apart in accessibility.

  At the entrance Corin and the rest came face to face with a unique furtive, wearing the same uniform as the guards at the main gate. This furtive was not very large, about the same height as Corin, but unlike him, was completely covered in brown feathers. Her face had very sharp features, including a large beak, and deep dark eyes. She followed their movements as they approached.

  Simeon whispered to Corin as if reading his mind. “A sparrowling.”

  So that's what they look like!

  Corin imagined what the one who faced the Giant and triumphed nearly a millennia ago looked like.

  “Fugitives I presume?” The sparrowling spoke.

  “You must be Captain Fran?” Simeon replied.

  “Yes.” She replied quickly. “Fugitives?”

  “Yes.” Simeon answered.

  It seemed she was not the very talkative type.

  “Ok five of you.” She said she turned around. She pointed with her feathered arm.

  “That back corner over there was recently emptied.” She said as she pointed.

  Corin looked to the corner. It was right up against the city walls, in a small spot that seemed to be the dividing point between opposing factions.

  “You have five days, after that you have to leave.” She spoke to the group.

  “Captain, the Yeojta are causing trouble again in sector six.” Another guard shouted towards the captain.

  “Again!?” She shouted back. “And Gerol?”

  “He has not been seen today!” The guard replied.

  “Fine, you need to take over!” She yelled back.

  She raised her feathered wings and was quickly airborne. She flew away from Corin and the group heading back to the center of the city.

  “Well I guess this is the place.” Simeon said as he began walking to the spot.

  “I'm missing the forest now.” Zhi said.

  “Remember, we only need to be here until we learn of Belaran’s location. We might be back on the road by tomorrow.” Simeon replied.

  The group did not take long to reach their alloted spot. The furtives on either side eyed them curiously as they whispered amongst themselves.

  Amongst those whispering amongst themselves there were three apemen sitting on the right side of their campsite. They made no attempt to hide their curiosity. They merely stared at Simeon and the others as they approached and kept talking amongst themselves.

  “Why don't you and the others get settled and I will try speaking with them.” Simeon said to the group.

  Corin and the rest did so and began to set down their items. As they put down their baggage and sorted out items from it, eyes from every corner of the camp looked in their direction. The curiosity as to what sort of items these strangers had with them was too much for any of the other furtives to ignore.

  “It seems as if our items are of great interest to our neighbors.” Livia muttered to Corin.

  “I will let them know-” Nanaua began as she made a fist and waved it around.

  Livia put her hands up to Nanaua's fist and held it close to her.

  “Nanaua these are not our enemies.” Livia spoke softly. “We will safeguard our items and that should be enough. But if we arouse too much suspicion then we might be put in a difficult situation.”

  Nanaua looked at Livia and quietly nodded.

  Corin and Zhi looked at each other with relief in their faces. The less attention they drew the better.

  As Corin grabbed what few essentials he needed he could not help but look over to Simeon interacting with the other apemen.

  “We might or might not.” The one closest to Simeon spoke without looking at him. “It depends.”

  Simeon seemed to understand what was being said. He brought down his bag and opened it. From it he pulled out some precious stones.

  The brown haired apeman gave the stone a quick look over and then went back to ignoring it and it's owner.

  “Not much use here.” He replied.

  Simeon thought for a second and then smiled. He went back to his bag and ruffled through the various compartments until he pulled out a bag of lychee fruits. They had gathered many of those while traveling with the forest elves. Simeon took one out.

  The apeman turned his head towards it and eyed it curiously. The other two apemen who had been having their own conversation turned their gaze to look at the fruits.

  “Try it. If you like it, I can give you more.” Simeon said.

  The apeman grabbed it and was about to put it in his mouth.

  “Wait,” Simeon interrupted. “Here I'll show you.”

  Simeon grabbed one of the fruits, peeled it, took the seed out, and then ate the white flesh of the fruit. The apeman repeated the steps and plopped the fruit in his mouth. His face displayed a wide range of expressions as he processed the flavor of the fruit.

  “Well?” Simeon asked.

  “Ten, and I may have heard speak of this Giant.” Came the reply.

  Simeon quickly took out the fruits and handed them to the apeman.

  “What was that name again?” He asked.

  “Belaran.” Simeon replied.

  “Belaran… not a name I recognize.” The apeman replied.

  The other apemen watched with curiosity as Simeon and their friend spoke.

  Corin felt his heart drop. He was incensed, he got up and prepared to walk over.

  He felt a tug pull him down.

  “Corin, Simeon can handle himself.” Livia said without looking.

  “Do you think you may know someone with that kind of information?” Simeon asked.

  The apeman looked around. It was clear he understood the question.

  “How about this?” Simeon said as he looked in his bag.

  He pulled out a piece of dried spiced meat Corin had prepared within the last two days. He had used bark from a tree the forest elves referred to as a fire tree. The resulting dried meat scalded the tongue on contact.

  Corin once again felt the need to say something, but he decided to let Simeon handle this himself.

  The apeman looked at the meat with much interest. Simeon gave him a small nibble. The apeman put the meat in his mouth and the reaction was almost instantaneous. The apeman reached for the nearest water he could find and gulped it down in one swig.

  “Well?” Simeon said.

  “Well what?! You could have warned me you were giving me fire disguised as meat!” The apeman replied, tears running down his face.

  “So you did not enjoy it?” Simeon asked.

  “I did not say that!” The apeman said, trying to put on his best bravado.

  His friends seemed to be salivating at the thought of trying the spiced dried meat.

  “I'll tell you more.” The apeman replied, as he stifled back sniffles. “Just give me that piece right there.”

  “First the information.” Simeon replied, holding up the meat.

  The apeman eyed Simeon with red teared up eyes.

  “Fine.” The apeman sniffled as he spoke. “The information you seek, about a Giant. Whatever you are looking for I'm sure the Oixia will know about it.” The last part was said in hushed tones.

  “The Oixia?” Simeon replied loudly.

  Furtives around them reacted to the name. It was imperceptible but it was clear that the name had picqued the interest of many near them.

  “That's correct. Depending on who you ask she is the unofficial ruler of Yranto, a criminal mastermind, a saint, or something in between.” One of the other apemen chimed in. “What is for certain is that the Oixia knows every little thing that goes on in this city. The saying goes “for every word spoken in Yranto, two more are whispered in the Oixia's ears”. If anyone in this city knows about your Giant, then the Oixia will know who it is.”

  “I see, and this Oixia, you wouldn't happen to know how I may reach her now would you?” Simeon replied.

  “No, but he does.” The apeman replied as he pointed behind Corin.

  Behind Corin stood a figure that was completely covered entirely in robes from head to toe, save for a small slit across the eyes. Corin had not even heard or felt his presence until it was pointed out to him by the apeman. Judging by everyone else's reactions it seemed as if he was not the only one that did not notice the stranger.

  “Tonight, the Oixia requires the Onsiel and the Lord's Protectorates presence.” The robed figure spoke in a deep voice toward Zhi and Nanaua. “A guide will meet with you here when the sun sets. Do not make them wait.”

  With that the robed figure departed.

  “Wait-” Nanaua began.

  “It's no use.” The apeman who had just been speaking said to Nanaua. “Just wait until the time he spoke of and you will have your meeting.”

  He turned to Simeon now.

  “I believe we are owed something.” He spoke with a smirk.

  “Enjoy!” Simeon said as he gave the rest of the dried meat to the apemen. They seemed to enjoy the burning sensation more than Corin expected.

  Simeon got up and joined the group. Zhi and Nanaua seemed to be at a loss for words for what had just occurred.

  “Well it seems like we might be getting information about Belaran sooner than we anticipated.” Simeon spoke up.

  “But why just meet with us two?” Zhi asked.

  “Why not ask to meet with all of us.” She followed up.

  “Well it's obvious that this person, this Oixia, knows more about us than we know about her.” Simeon began. “I would not doubt that she knows where you both come from. For a person like her, who deals in information, you both may have something that she needs.”

  “You're not concerned?” Zhi replied. “You think we can trust this person?”

  Corin looked around. The furtives around were not even trying to hide the fact that they were all listening to them.

  “Whether or not we can is not something we can concern ourselves with.” Livia spoke up. “We're in her territory and if we want what we came here for, then we need to meet with her. She asked for you and Nanaua. The same Nanaua who easily disarmed the captain of the guard at the gates, an incident I'm sure she knows of. If anything I would see this as a show of good faith on her part.”

  Zhi was still unhappy.

  “I can assure you, you are not the only one who does not like this arrangement.” Livia said in a low tone as she looked around. “But we came to this city together and we will leave together.”

  Corin and Simeon gave the most imperceptible of nods, reassuring Zhi.

  “So you are of the opinion that there won't be any issues?” Nanaua asked.

  Livia exchanged looks with Simeon.

  “Oh there will be, we just don't know what it will be this time.” She replied.