Calathus

Chapter 18 - Arcane

Dedicaded to Viviloana 'cause she's so sexy and also 'cause I accidently skipped her. >-> Hehe...^^; <3 Vivi

18.

Arcane

Sianna shook her head. "What—"

"All will be explained once I finish my errand here," Aldermeck said and pulled down the blindfold over her eyes. She walked passed Sianna and Reth, deeper into the store.

Deneck stayed behind, a smile on his lips, but Sianna didn't know if it was for her or for Reth. When the blond Rhokin returned the gesture, she rolled her eyes and sighed. They could play best friends while she wasn't around.

Sianna stepped away from them to see Aldermeck talking to the tailor, his golden tooth twinkling between words as he accepted what appeared to be a bag full of coins. He lead Aldermeck to the many hanging garments he had and plucked three of them down: a dress chocked with folds of fabric; a green and ivory doublet with black sleeves and buttons; and a rich brown cassock with red trimmings. The garments were wrapped up in bags of linen and given to Aldermeck. After asking if she needed anything else, the tailor gave one final golden smirk before disappearing again.

As the four of them walked outside, Sianna saw Aldermeck and Deneck had come on foot because no other mounts except her and Reth's horses were there.

"Good. You have horses. We shall share," Aldermeck said as she draped the clothes over Sianna's horse. She hoisted herself on the saddle, Deneck taking a seat behind her, placing the garments over his lap. Despite her blindfold, Sianna could feel the Leitnants eyes on her telling her to hurry up.

She sighed as she walked over to Reth's horse. Several questions burned her tongue, but she knew how the Leitnant worked. She had to wait and while she waited, she had to ride with Reth. It was uncomfortable two to a saddle, but they fit and Reth had the courtesy of allowing her to ride in the front.

"We're going to Black Hollow," Aldermeck said as she nodded her head towards the general direction they were going to take. 

Sianna winced. Black Hollow was the section of the city where most of the taverns and brothels could be found. It got its name from the fire that consumed it a few decades ago when a drunken brothel client knocked down a candle during his session with an equally intoxicated whore. The fire spread and burned for an entire day before it was snuffed out but not before that section of Rorasul was blackened. Though Sianna found the tale hilarious when she first heard it, that was not the cause of her current distress.

"To reach Black Hollow we have to pass The Citadel of Grace," she said.

"We will go through it quickly," Aldermeck said.

So she knows, Sianna thought. 

"Ser?" Reth said behind her. She could hear a hint of distress in his voice.

"We'll just ignore them, Reth, and get through it quickly, just like Ser Aldermeck said."

Sianna felt him nod. "Yes, ser."

They passed the white cobbled stones of Aanoris Circle in silence. On occasion pulled carriages passed by them but other than that the streets were bare. The pathway funneled out into a courtyard that signaled they had entered The Chapel of Grace, the segment of Rorasul named after its Unseeing Chapel.

The north, east, and south sections of it held shrines devoted to each of the three gods where only flowers the color of each corresponding god was grown The western section was where the actual chapel resided with its giant curved roofs and hanging candles. Pathways interlacing the areas together were padded dirt roads outlined with crooked stones. It would've appeared as Rorasul's most serene and beautiful section of the city if not for the crowds of people littering every corner. It was there where the religious zealots gathered. Their days were spent praying, fasting, and doing whatever else it was they did.