Equilibrium

A Journey

Larke, 1182

My room was just as always: spartan in decoration and slightly drafty. The bed in the corner was functional, but not overly comfortable. The dresser, filled with assorted clothing, was a bland pine, rectangular and simple. Other than that, there was a rack that I could hang up may armor, and that was the extent of my furniture that I owned. This was just a place that I slept; it wasn't home. I sat on the bed and began to loosen the straps that secured the Suryan leather armor that I usually wore.

The Naga obviously wouldn't accept somebody just off the street, I had to gain their sympathy somehow. I had loosened the straps of the left shoulder, and it fell into my hands. I examined it. The smooth leather, imprinted with a golden star surrounded by a circle, indicated my esteemed rank. I laid it down on the bed. I couldn't take that with me where I was going.

Slowly and methodically, I continued to remove my armor, piece by piece. I could always pose as a beggar, I supposed. The Naga often take pity on the poor, as it is easy to take advantage of them. People don't become criminals for fun – or at least, most of them don't. They do it because they need to. Though we knew they were based in the city, nobody knew where their home base was. Likely, it was hidden through some enchantment. Which meant that I would have to convince somebody to take me there.

I wasn't quite sure where to start, but I felt confident that I would figure it out once I got out into the city. My armor fully removed, carefully placed just-so on the bed beside me, it was time to don my disguise. I rose to dig through my dresser, searching for a dress that I knew should be in there somewhere. Most peasant women wore a cotton gown similar to the one that I had, if I could find it.

Shoved into the corner, balled up and smelling only somewhat musty, I drew out a cotton gown that should do the trick. I quickly shed my tunic that went under my armor and leggings and threw on the shift over me. After much tugging, it finally fit over my hips and chest. I suppose I'd gotten larger and more muscular since I'd worn this last. That was unsurprising; I trained daily with weapons and physical exercise, honing my body as I would a weapon. I dug a brown cloth corset of sorts out of the dresser and tied it neatly around my torso, securing the dress.

My long, black hair was already in a plait as usual, out of my face and out of my way. I took a deep breath and looked around my room, wondering if I would miss it. I didn't think that I would. What else would I need? I couldn't take any obvious weapon, like a sword, though I wished I could. I was an extremely powerful mage, and able to overcome just about any foe, but my magic was costly. The great energy that I expended, even just to reinforce my own physical strength, sapped my mental strength. I couldn't rely on it, as oftentimes the cost is too great for it to be worth the effort.

It was time to go. I didn't see a need to use a false name. Fields was a common surname, typically seen in the plains beyond the capital. And, though the royal family and the Suryan Mages all knew my name, it wasn't as if the rest of the public did. I wasn't famous by any means, and it should be safe enough for me to go by Larke. It would be easier, in any case. It was such a pain to have to remember to answer to a different name.

I would be Larke Fields, a peasant woman, alone and down on her luck, perhaps even a widow. And, if my late husband had a gambling debt, it would transfer to me. If anyone questioned me on the details, I could just say that he lied to me, kept the specifics from me. I decided that my husband and I had been farmers, which should be easy enough for me fake. Though it'd been fifteen years, I'd been a farmer's daughter a lifetime ago. I should be able to speak about it convincingly enough.

I walked out of my room, ready for my journey. There was only one more thing left; I would have to inform my second in command, Liss. He would likely still be in the training yard with the recruits, just as he had been earlier today before I'd gone to see the King. I walked along the familiar path, as I had earlier, towards my destination. I would miss this.