Chapter 29
Everything a man could imagine could've been bought on the Astinian market. Galaspiael and Kalena went there, for a few hours of respite. There was no time to waste, so they quickly ran through the crowd in search of something interesting.
"My dear apprentice, today you will learn the secret art of bargaining," he said. "It's simple. The most important thing is to show how you don't care about anything, even if you have to buy it. Always behave as if you're pa.s.sing by, just to see if prices are better than on the stall next door."
"How could I pretend I don't want all this? Look, they sell chocolate there! I need to buy it!" Kalena admired everything she saw, completely ignoring his words. Galaspiael gave her some money, so she could buy a souvenir.
The sun came out from behind the clouds and Kalena had to close her eyes. For a moment she lost Galaspiael because the people gathered very close to her. Someone was still pus.h.i.+ng and nudging her.
"What's going on, why they all running so fast?!"
"Slave traders have arrived," Galaspiael responded grimly. "Come on, we'll find some quiet place."
The girl started looking around looking for these traders. By the old custom, she also glanced briefly at the bare shoulders of the slaves they pa.s.sed, looking for someone with a burned mark, similar to the one she had. As usual, she didn't notice anyone like that.
Suddenly Kalena stopped. She seemed to hear a leather whip and someone's scream. Galaspiael found some books and started bargaining. At the moment someone else was purchasing a slave. Some man heard how much his life was worth.
The girl stood motionless and wondered if her master would ever manage to ban slavery. She knew that he had such a plan, they talked about it many times. However, at that moment she couldn't imagine it. He was the only person who did not accept slavery at all. Kalena did not know anyone with such radical views yet. More enlightened people opposed to the cruelty of owners. Zarkin never hit Mei, Tessale didn't kill or sell old slaves.
And Galaspiael was completely against slavery. Moreover, he believed that his way of thinking was right and fascinated Kalena with his ideas in which she doubted, seeing how quickly the crowd rushed to the traders.
*
A little further, Mei watched as Zarkin chose a new dagger.
Earlier, the boy bought her an arm bracelet to wear instead of a collar. The merchant wanted to persuade him to also buy a leather whip. Zarkin disagreed
After a few minutes, he paid three hundred Sekanian Saaras for his chosen dagger with a leather-trimmed handle and a slightly curved blade.
"Now I will have two," he explained. "Or will give you the old one? In case somebody attacks you and I'm not around."
"But why do you need a dagger since you chose the bow as your weapon, my lord?" she asked.
"If someone would jump at me from around the corner, without a dagger I could not cope, Shen is completely bulky for me. In Conspiracy they also have such blades, right?"
"Only some of them," Mei replied, "those who don't learn to fight. They use them only for defense."
"How do they know how to defend themselves if they are not taught to fight?"
Mei could not answer, because suddenly someone covered her mouth with a hand and pulled to the other side. Zarkin turned in surprise at her m.u.f.fled scream. The girl began to struggle and bit her a.s.sailant's finger. Zarkin then tried to push him away. The man responded to his attack by releasing a girl who took the opportunity to kick him hard. He reached for the weapon, but Zarkin was faster and stabbed the enemy with a dagger.
Warm blood ran between boy's fingers and for some reason felt dizzy. Someone's hand pulled his arm.
"We have to run!" Mei dragged her lord with her.
"Wait... who was that? Why did he attack you?" Zarkin whispered, feeling panic approach.
"A spy from Righteous Conspiracy." She explained, looking sideways. "He probably thought I was a Scribe. Other spies probably are near, we have to get off the main street, otherwise, they will follow us and eventually get us!"
Zarkin thought they would leave the market, but Mei led him even deeper into the crowd. They walked quickly, occasionally nudging pa.s.sers-by. He could hear murmurs of discontent and curses behind him. He stared at the ground, careful not to stumble. Suddenly they turned and Mei continued to pull his hand. The boy felt strange anger rising in him. He still was holding the b.l.o.o.d.y dagger. He was afraid of himself.
"Climb the roof," she commanded. Without hesitation, Zarkin obeyed, and at that time she attacked another identically dressed a.s.sailant.
The first thing that caught his eye was that his slave fought amazingly well, even without any weapons. He held his breath for a moment as she jumped on the spy. He was sure that the a.s.sailant's neck would break, but he managed to throw the girl off himself. During the fight, Mei used her legs very often. Her fighting style was completely different from what he saw in Yagn-Sho. Once again, she hit her opponent on the head so that he collapsed to the ground unconscious.
"There is no time," she said, climbing over
"That's why we went on the roof?! I want to go home, let me go!"
Mei didn't answer, she just grabbed his hand again. They jumped down to the backyard.
"Listen to me," she said and grabbed his s.h.i.+rt. "I know you're scared, but you have to trust me." The girl went silent and started looking for a hiding place. "Come there!" She pushed him towards the tool cell. "I don't know why they are chasing us, but we can't go back to the quarters with the tail," she froze, seeing that three men had climbed onto the roof and revealed a small window.
"Will they notice us?" Zarkin asked quietly.
"They shouldn't." Mei glanced at him and raised her eyebrows questioningly. "They're at a spot, why don't you shoot from the window?"
"I don't have anything," he explained and pursed his lips nervously, feeling her scolding look on him. "I didn't take my arrows, how could I know I would need them?"
"My lord, please tell me what is the point of carrying a bow with you if you don't have any arrows?!" The girl sighed. "Well, we just have to wait. Under the cover of night, it will be easier to confuse them and maybe by then they'll give up." She paused and glanced at her owner, seeing that he hadn't listened "My lord, what's bothering you?"
"Why did you lie to me that you can't fight?" He asked, looking up.
"I did not lie. I can't fight. I'm agile and that's all."
"Agile," Zarkin repeated and laughed nervously. "You kicked him in the face."
"I was protecting my lord," she sat next to him and ran her fingers through his hair. "It's alright now. We will try to lose them."
*
Kalena and Galaspiael returned just before the afternoon cla.s.ses. They bought a lot of books, but never once did they see a typical bookstall. The newer ones were sold in where the rich Sekanians went, and the poorer merchants traded the old stained and sometimes impossible to read. They did not understand the value of this commodity, and although they sometimes demanded very high sums, Galaspiael stated that the books were worth several times more.
It turned out that Kalena bought only food and no souvenirs. Mostly chocolate, but also a few very salty snacks. She offered her master and they quickly got thirsty. However, they had used up all their water the previous day, so they went to a well nearby, and Rikken found them there.
"Do you don't know why Zarkin isn't back yet?" He asked, looking around in search of his apprentice. "I haven't seen him since morning."
"I didn't see him today, master," Kalena responded, "yesterday he injured his hand during training, I thought he stayed home because of that."
"I'm worried something might have happened. Mei is also nowhere to be found."
"We can help find them," Galaspiael offered, "has he any family or friends here?"
"No. He doesn't know anyone in this city. I don't know where he could go!"
"I suggest we ask someone else for help. Tessale will agree. Don't worry, they probably just stayed somewhere longer and thought that no one would notice their disappearance. We'll find him quickly for sure."
*
The temple of the strange Sekanian sect, with a name impossible to p.r.o.nounce, had its monasteries far away and rarely anyone visited this place for a purpose other than to pray. One guard always sat in front of the main door bored, because even thieves bypa.s.sed this place from afar, convinced that they would find nothing useful.
This is where Zarkin and Mei hid.
Convinced that the spies had lost their trail, they left their previous hideout and quickly headed towards the quarters of the Sekanian Scribes' a.s.sociation. Unfortunately, the persecutors quickly cut off their path, so they had to flee again.
"I'm not sure if we would come back today," said Mei. "We can try to get out and split up. If they're looking for two people, maybe it'll fool them somehow." She sighed heavily hearing no response from him. "My Lord, I know you're tired, but I won't lead us home safely without your help." She came over and sat down next to him. "What are you thinking about?"
"He asked you for the pa.s.sword," he murmured. "The guard out there. And you knew it. Whence?"
"One of my previous owners had a wife who often came to a temple similar to this to pray and I accompanied her. This pa.s.sword somehow stuck in my mind, but to be honest, I didn't think the guard would let us in. As far as I know, they change their pa.s.sword once every few years."
"My owner's wife was also very religious. And you... do you believe in something?"
"I am looking for my faith, but I do not like this cult at all. How about you, my lord?
Zarkin smiled crookedly.
"I don't know if I should tell you this, people react differently. There is a state religion in Velikania that centers around some G.o.d of life and several other deities. There is also the G.o.d of death that everyone is afraid of. I chose him."
"It's quite... odd indeed," she replied. "All people are afraid of the G.o.d of death."
"Life is unfair, but in the end, everyone will have the same fate. You will not avoid death just because you are rich and born free. Everyone is equal to death and I like it. You never really felt the need to believe in something?"
"Really. What is it my lord, do you want to convert me?"
"You could just stop calling me 'lord'." Zarkin stretched his bent legs and stared at the floor. "I don't deserve to be t.i.tled like that after what happened today. I didn't act like a man at all. I put all the responsibility on you and started to panic. I didn't even take my arrows. I'm really ashamed."
"About the arrows..." Mei went to one of the side altars from which she took a quiver full of arrows ending with decorative red ribbons.
"Can we take them?"
"Yes and no. We'll only take a little, so n.o.body will notice. They should use them during summer processions. Recently, however, a decree has pa.s.sed throughout the entire Sekania prohibiting religious holidays in the form of processions. I don't think anyone would notice that they disappeared."
Zarkin sighed deeply and clenched his fists.
"Let's go!"
The area in front of the temple was lit by two very large lanterns hung on metal poles. Zarkin and Mei quickly left the circle of light the lanterns created and dived into the darkness. The girl stopped.
"They were waiting for us. There is somebody there." She pointed ahead. Indeed, there was a figure in the middle of the empty road. After a few seconds, Zarkin noticed the indistinct shadow of a man quickly moving towards them.
"We have the advantage," he said and aimed the bow. "He doesn't know we noticed him."
The arrow flew with a whistle straight into the spy's shoulder, but it didn't manage to harm him much. Zarkin quickly reached for another, wondering if it would be better to prepare for an open fight.
The second arrow turned out to be off-target. There was no more chance, Mei ran out and attacked first, giving Zarkin a few more moments.
He had nothing up his sleeve except two daggers, but he thought they should be enough. Unlike the previous two, this opponent was much more efficient. Mei couldn't handle him. When he saw Zarkin coming, he threw a small blade at the boy. The boy ducked slightly. He signaled her to move a safe distance and leap, wanting to force the dagger into the enemy's back with all his might. The man quickly turned and kicked him in the stomach.
Zarkin focused not to lose his weapon, so he did not pay attention to proper fall protection, which was a mistake. He groaned when he felt his back hit the protruding and quite sharp stone. Immediately afterward, the piercing pain dissipated him for a moment. He saw a small, sharp metal object in his right thigh. He tried to get up to strain his leg as little as possible, and at that time Mei attacked once more. She was knocked over again, and then she grabbed one of the knives and rolled under the opponent's feet. She quickly ran the blade under his right knee.
"What do you want from us?!" She asked in Madegaldian.
The spy was surprised to hear his language. He looked at her furiously, then glanced at Zarkin.
"Thieves! This recipe should stay in the vault!"
"What's he talking about?" The boy narrowed his eyes in pain. "What recipe? I don't like this language!"
"I don't understand anything either. I think he mistook us for someone else."
"You lie, thief! You can kill me!" He said when Zarkin aimed at him. "But justice will do you anyway."
"Leave it!" asked Mei "We've spilled enough blood today."
"I can't let him go!"
"Why not? Let's not get into a conflict that does not involve us!"
He didn't want to admit her right. He couldn't leave the spy, so he stunned him with something on the head.
They escaped as fast as Zarkin's injured leg would allow. On the main street, they ran into Kalena and Galaspiael. At first, the boy did not recognize familiar faces and wanted to turn back. After a full day of escaping, he saw a.s.sa.s.sin in everyone.
"Where have you been?! Are you alright?" Kalena examined them for wounds.
"The Righteous Conspiracy tried to kill us!" Zarkin explained.
"We don't even know why," Mei added. "They followed us all day! And there lies the last one who attacked us."
"Master Rikken was very worried about you," Galaspiael said. "Relax, you're safe now. Kalena will lead you away."