Through teleportation and a fair bit of ingenuity, Katerin and her companions were able to find their way onto Luminya, without ships travel, or the teleportation wards to haze them. Lugaria had offered them the location, and following his directions, they were not far from the city. Fykes' magical cloak had horses, of course, but the four of them had opted to remain on foot for most of their short journey so far.
Katerin could not explain the feeling as she, Arjiah, Fykes, and Brazen traveled down the muddy stretch of Crimson Way toward Hearth-Home. Its tall walls with their elegant crenelations invoked the memory of her departure of the city, and if she had not been preoccupied, she may have cried. Seeing the tower peeking above the walls in the distance warmed her heart, even while Lugaria's words echoed somewhere in the back of her mind.
Stay out of it, Katerin.
"Perhaps it's a good time to disguise yourself?" Arjiah gave her a sympathetic look.
Katerin sighed and paused in her stride to pull a stick of charcoal from her bag. She drew several lines across her face and her collarbone, and her she even smudged some into her hair. She spoke under her breath with her eyes closed and when she opened them she felt the magic fall over her like mist. Her hair was now a soft blonde instead of raven black, her eyes were a darker blue, her lips thicker. Her ears no longer held a soft point, and her stature was thicker, while her skin was tanned and freckled, instead of pale and marked with the mark of the Storm Bearer. "Think it'll fool them?" It was only an illusion, but that was as far as she wanted to go with such magics.
Some had the ability to change themselves completely, but she knew that such magic took time to master, and though she was confidant in her ability to pull off an illusion, she had no desire to be anybody else.
Arjiah looked her over and nodded without hesitation. "You look worlds different."
"We're likely to lose you in the crowd," Fykes said, with a reassuring grin. "How long will it stay?"
"Most of the day, if I focus." She looked to the soft gray cloak about her shoulders and grimaced. She missed the thicker enchanted fabric of her Sahn-Raidar cloak and not wearing it almost felt like a crime.
Despite the amiable relationship between Sahn-Raidar and the city of Hearth-Home, she knew her cloak would only find her trouble. She was posing as her neighbors daughter, after all. A sweet tempered herbalist, by the name of Nessia De'vrin, who had left the city near to the same time she had, bound for the Elves of Uhm'bantha to study religion and ceremony.
And Nessia De'vrin had no love or knowledge of Sahn-Raidar.
"We have to call you Nessia?" Brazen asked, looking at her with visible discomfort.
"Only for a little while," she tried to reassure him.
"What if the spell fades while you're in the street? Or if someone rids you of it. You told me yourself there's a lot of magic in this city and—"
"All will be alright, Brazen. We don't have to worry." Arjiah said, patting his shoulder.
Brazen sighed heavily, but shrugged with one last disdainful look to his clothes. Since they had returned from Alkyrindaun, Brazen had taken a liking to bright and strange fashions, but Katerin had asked him to change them, for the sake of attention within the city. "I can get a weapon if I need one, but I don't like these clothes."
"Our weapons are still with us, and they will be back in our hands once we find somewhere safe in the city," Katerin said. "This is only a show for the guards, and they won't question simple travelers such as ourselves. Besides, you look too young to be a guard."
Fykes grinned and patted Ahlindrion's hilt on his side. "And I look too old to be an apprentice." He was the only one of them in his normal attire, armor, weapons, cloak and traveling pack in place, with his hair tied up loosely behind his ears. Katerin envied his comfort as she considered her skirt. Brazen was not the only one unhappy with his required apparel.
The skirt was made for travel, but Katerin knew that both running in fighting in such a thing was a difficult endeavor. She missed her leggings and her boots, and her comfortable tunics.
Brazen put up his hands. "I don't think I look that young. You said yourself that I am technically older than all of you combined."
"You look as if your mother just cut you from the apron straps last month," Arjiah said. "We know different, but it's better to let people assume whatever they will."
Katerin looked to Arjiah, and the woman showed her the dagger hilt she had hidden amongst her dress, with a wink. Katerin had a similar one, though she was unsure what it might do to aid her, should the guards realize her tricks.
While one on one, Katerin was sure she could win, though she very much doubted that the whole of the city guard would not pin her down. The soldiers of Hearth-Home were excellent fighters, their only downfall was the fact that they did not think on their own. In a small skirmish this was Katerin's advantage, but if she was to be chased, it was surely theirs.
As they came under the shadow of the gates, Katerin walked forward as though she was returning home with an eager joy in her steps. And it was not all that hard to feign, as she did feel a small amount of joy, rebuked as it was by the nervousness clawing at her stomach.
There were several more soldiers around then what she had expected—thirty or more–and many crowds of people with wagons, horses, and packs. Most looked like merchants, some were only family's, but all of them were only allowed to pass, after speaking with the guards. Here we go, she thought.
She put on her best look of concern and waited.
The line moved slowly, but they were here early, and so it was not long before a guard approached. She would have said a prayer, had she been a pious woman. When the guards turned attention to her, she smiled warmly to them, and waited for them to address her.
"State your name, business, and the names of your companions," the guard said, taking stock of her appearance with a pair of keen blue eyes.
Katerin could smell the faint sulfurous aroma from the armor he wore, and she knew exactly why such a smell pervaded him. The power of a dragons scales never faded, so the scholars said. "Nessia De'vrin," she answered, "Behind me is my apprentice Deurnot Keyquen," she gestured to Brazen, who put on his best youthful smile. "Gaelia Frerir, a close friend," she gestured to Arjiah. "And Stefan Greran, my hired guard." Katerin fought back momentary panic as she spoke. In all her haste, she had forgotten to settle on an alias for Fykes. She and Arjiah had suggested several, but none of them seemed fitting, and the topic had been lost in travel.
The guard looked over at Fykes, eyes narrowing. "Stefan? You're the twentieth Stefan this month."
Fykes smiled, "Well, if anything about me should be common, I suppose I should be blessed that it be my name."
The guard turned back to Katerin. "De'vrin, you said?"
She nodded. "I am returning to visit my family."
"You picked a dangerous time, lady, but I'm sure your family will be glad to see you well."
Fykes passed Katerin a stressed look, that seemed to ask why she had chosen a name linked to nobility. The De'Vrin's were not the highest class, but they had plenty of friends within the city.
"A... a dangerous time?" She blinked and pouted her lips, trying her best to look confused.
The guardsman grimaced. "Aye. The king's dead, you see. There's been riots."
Katerin stepped away, her hands clasping. "Bernard is dead?"
The guard only nodded solemnly. "But, there's a curfew, and as long as you follow the law and stay inside after curfew, you'll be perfectly safe. We have a dutiful man in the throne, and he is working to calm all this tension."
"Might I ask who holds the throne?" Katerin gave him a pleading glance.
"He goes by King Mordai, lady."
Katerin resisted her immediate urge to tense up and bit her tongue instead.
The guard held out a reassuring hand, looking aghast. "Bernard was usurped... but the claims against him... he turned from his people."
Katerin huffed out a disturbed breath, staring at the guards face. She thought momentarily that the act was unnecessary, but Nessia would not know of all the chaos in the city, and so she supposed she ought to be as convincing as she could. "Thank you for explaining," she said.
"Sign this here, and the city is yours to behold, but please beware of the curfew, and—" he plucked a piece of parchment from his belt, and held it out to her. "If you see a woman of this look, please report her to the nearest watchmen."
Katerin looked down to see a drawing of herself with a rather blank expression, and she thought, a nose that was far too pointed. "Of course," she said, with a small curtsy, as the guard ushered her through the gate. As it closed behind her, and they moved away from the walls, she sniffed at the parchment before glancing behind her. Throngs of people had now gathered, and it seemed there were more people trying to gain entrance, then there were walking the streets.
As they passed beneath the gatehouse, she felt a shiver run down her spine, and she placed the magic in only a moment. It was like a thin net, and it pulled on her magics in an almost draining manner. She was sure that the lack of teleportation was not simply for the larger and more commonly affiliated spell of traveling a long distance, but also others of stepping through dimensions or moving at a quicker pace. She glanced toward the sky and wondered how far up it went.
"Stefan?" Fykes asked, looking at her incredulously. "Do I really look like a Stefan to you?"
"I panicked, okay? I'm sorry." His words pulled her thoughts away from the magical net and the drawing of herself, and she tucked it away.
Arjiah snorted out a laugh, and as Katerin turned she could see the Amerlyian's sharply pointed teeth.
"What's wrong with Stefan?" Brazen asked, and Fykes slowed.
"Nothings really wrong with it, but out of all of the names she could have picked, it's... the worst one."
Brazen and Fykes' voices were lost to Katerin, and she shuddered as she took in the city. Its wide streets were broken by trees and ovular pools of water, with iron torch sconces to light them at night and flowers whose stalks had been meticulously trimmed for the coming winter. It was as breathtaking as it had always been. Entrance into the city via the Crimson gate was meant to make everyone feel welcome, and rich, although this district housed the middle class, it had greenery that some parts of the city lacked, and more often than not it was easy to catch nobles out for an evening stroll.
The masonry on the roads was finely kept, and no cracks or loose stones could be found under foot, and birds drank and swam in the small pools that separated the roads into lanes. This road gave what some considered the best view of the city, with both castle and the Tower visible on their respective hills, with spots of green and pretty buildings to break up the scene.
With the morning sun in the sky and the chilly breeze spurring her on, she smiled. She listened to the sparse wagons as they maneuvered the streets and heard the well mannered calls of merchants hawking their wares. She wondered why she had ever thought that she could not feel at home, here, and as she closed her eyes, she still remembered navigating the streets as a younger woman, with less anxiety in her heart. She walked the main road, remembering shops and shop-keeps as she went, but she never allowed herself to slow.
Things had changed since her departure. One old masonry shop had been renovated into what seemed to be a bakery. Her favorite tailor had expanded, and the style of dress had changed, too. Though to her it only seemed distasteful, with large caged skirts, and high-waisted trousers. As the paint had changed, so too had the people. She saw very few crowds save for groups of patrolling guards, and the gatherings she saw seemed nervous.
"Where to first?" Fykes asked, stepping up to stride beside her once again.
"The Tower," she said, with a grin. "We need to visit Halemeda."
"The headmistress?" Arjiah asked, looking curious.
"The very same." Katerin cracked a smile at Arjiah's tone, and at Brazen as he watched the birds as they dove to the small, clear pools across the way.
"Can you do that?" Fykes asked, watching the skyline.
"Well, I hope so. I attended her for a few years, and when I left, she offered me her best wishes, so unless she has forgotten my name, I don't see why we wouldn't be able to visit."
Fykes glanced down at the simple, dusty traveling clothes he wore. "I'm not sure I'm dressed appropriately, to meet a headmistress."
Katerin eyed him from the very corner of her eye and fought back her knowing smirk. "Don't worry, she'll like you, anyway."
"Can the people at the Tower see through your... disguise?" Brazen asked.
"Halemeda will. The others, I don't know. It dependson if they want to."
"Are we sure it's wise to go to her so quickly? What if she sided with Mordai?" Fykes' unease was palpable in his tone.
Katerin snorted. "I very much doubt that." I guess we'll find out when we get there.
Walking through the city seemed as peaceful as ever, as not a single guard even looked at her long enough to recognize that she was a woman beneath her cloak. It made her wonder if the ruse was all that necessary, though she was proven that it was as she watched the guards on a street corner stop every girl of a similar height and hair color to Katerin before they let them continue about their day.
The walk down the wide and unblemished streets was uneventful, and Katerin was glad for it. Upon hiking to the top of a rather steep hill, she caught her first glimpse of the walls that surrounded the Tower and its many facilities. The gray and tan mixture of stone looked to her as it always had. Promising and welcoming.
The gates of the Tower stood open, as they made their approach, but two men stood under its threshold, wearing Tower robes and sword markings of a blade on their right shoulders and gave Katerin a stern glance as she approached. Arcane blades-men usually were the students who had worked the guard and seeing them again brought back plenty of memories. These men were no part of the army, as the Tower itself had always been a separate facility, and while it was amiable with the soldiers and listened to the Kings rule, it took it as a matter of pride, that it protected itself.
"Mind if I ask the reason for your visit, miss? With the curfew business, Halemeda has been running a tight ship," the first man said. He spoke sternly, but he didn't look it, with his fair hair and slender face.
Katerin paused, panic rising in her chest. "I've come to see some old friends of mine. I used to attend."
The second mans gaze narrowed. "You look as though you've barely graduated, miss. And I don't recognize you."
"Oh, apologies. It was years ago." Katerin shuffled slightly. "I studied botany under Jenny, and I've come to show my associates the wonderful environment this school holds. Uhm'bantha was an experience, but holds no comparison to the minds here." In the moment she was more thankful than ever, that she had taken time to learn the names of the teachers, and what they taught. Without the knowledge, this plan of hers was likely to fail. Any student that worked as a guard knew the hierarchy of the Tower, and if you tried to enter without knowledge of any of those names, it was unlikely you would make it past the walls.
Both guards nodded, and Katerin thanked the gods that the guards were still nothing more than students of the Tower. The rivalry between here and Uhm'bantha was a quiet, but strong one. They had a drastically different focus, as far as the studies went, but the students of each felt as though they had something to prove.
"Your name?"
"Ka—Nessia." Katerin resisted the urge to swallow and watched how Fykes shoulders tensed. "Nessia De'vrin. Excuse me, I felt a sneeze."
"If you can wait here a moment, I'll check the records of your attendance." The second man said, and he gestured to a small grouping of benches just under the right side of the wall.
"Of course," Katerin gave the slightest indication of a curtsy, and moved to a series of benches outside the gates. Smiling at the potted flowers, and the overlook of the city below the hill the Tower stood upon.
Fykes eyed her wildly. "That was close.... to being close?"
"Sorry," she hissed. "The guards used to tease me and have me state my name every morning.... force of habit."
"Why would they tease you?" Arjiah asked, looking both intrigued and amused.
"We all had a rivalry, if I'm honest. Every class would do whatever they could to get the next in trouble, letting no teacher be the wiser."
"Did you win?" Brazen asked, though he was staring at the middle tower over the wall, with his jaw slightly open. It was the tallest of the three, and the stone was white, instead of gray-tan of the rest of the campus.
"I don't think anyone ever truly won." Katerin chuckled. "The guards always had the advantage that they could make you late for class, though. It was never fun to find someone who particularly despised you, upon arrival in the morning."
"I would've just snuck in, at that point." Fykes looked to the wall with a shrug.
Katerin grinned. "What do you think I'll do if this fails?"
A few minutes passed, and just as Katerin was sure that her ruse had fallen through, the second guard returned. "You're alright, miss Nessia. Please enjoy your visit."
"Thank you," she said, before she walked into the tower grounds with her chin held high. Memories washed over her like the Current waves as she beheld the gardens and pristine pathways that lead to each building.
Just behind that small oak tree, Kindra had thumped Mordai in the head so hard that it seemed he bled all day, because he had insisted that Merriam was, in fact, the prettier of the two. Though Katerin had never agreed. Merriam's face held too much arrogance to ever be pretty in her mind.
By the fountain where the path split, was the first time Katerin had ever been publicity scolded, as she had made off from the library with a case of scrolls she never should have touched, and upon sitting herself upon the fountain to read, had dropped a number of them into the water.
Outside the small apothecary, beside a now gnarled and aged rose bush, was where she and Kindra were first introduced.
It seemed invisible ink covered every stone of the place in a language only she could read. That ink brought back memories that had not graced her mind in years. She bit her tongue to stop herself from rambling, and instead she made her way past the herb garden, the library, and past the sandy training grounds to the doorway of the main tower. As she climbed the steps, and moved aside for a young mage in dusty robes as he rushed by, she touched the door-frame and remembered her younger self taking in the sights for the first time, as her father led a ten-year-old girl to the ornate desk, to pay for her tuition and allow her to study everything that these grounds held. And she knew now that she had barely dented what these grounds held and learned a lot that they could never teach.
She walked without doubt through the twisting hallways, and up the familiar steps, moving aside for every hurried person in her way. "I hope you don't mind stairs," she told her companions, with a grin.
The climb took minutes, as they ascended in circles towards a free floating chandelier at the top. Every so many steps there was a platform, with three hallways leading from it, and as she walked Katerin told her friends with hall held what. One floor held nothing but empty rooms used to study, where younger mages practiced simple spells of levitation, and older students took their companions when they did not want to be bothered by the busy atmosphere. One held alchemy labs, another held storerooms of paper and ink.
All of it converged at the top of the steps, with a narrow hallway, brightly lit, and a soft gray rug to pad their footsteps.