BETA READ
Date: 8th October 3852 A.C.E.
Rain poured over the city of Dartrin. Leaving the streets bare, except for a cloaked figure navigating their way through the narrow alleys between the run-down buildings. The figure came to a door with a dimly lit sign that read: Al’s Alehouse and Inn. The figure slowly made their way inside and took in their surroundings as they headed to the bar. The patrons of the alehouse were huddled around firepits, drinking out of their tankards, and singing along with a bard, who had set up in the far corner of the room. While waiting for the barkeeper, they removed the drenched hood of their cloak, revealing an unkempt young man with long black hair.
The burly barkeeper finished serving another patron and, turning to face the cloaked figure, with a boisterous greeting said, “Welcome to my Alehouse, I’m Al. And who are you then? I haven’t seen you around here before.”
A little taken aback, the cloaked man responded, “My name’s Myst. I’ve… I’ve just arrived in Dartrin this evening.”
“What is it that’s brought you into the dark city, Myst?”
“I’m looking for a place to stay. I’ve been looking for someone and need somewhere to rest while I’m in town.”
“Lucky for you, we have rooms available just upstairs. Who is it that you’re looking for?”
“Have you heard of a person called Shadow?”
“I have. He wreaked some havoc in one of the out-skirting towns just the other…” Al caught a glimpse of Myst’s eyes and paused in shock. “Your eyes… I’ve seen many a person come through here. But never in my 30 years have I seen anyone with the emerald eyes of the gods.”
“O-of the gods?” queried Myst.
Al looked puzzled. “You don’t know of the gods? Where are you from?”
“I’ve lived my entire life in Middroania. This is the first time I’ve left. My parents only ever briefly mentioned the different powers of one’s eyes and never mentioned the gods.”
“They never taught you about the differences between each of the nine races of Flaresai?”
“N-no, they didn’t. There’s nine?”
“Usually only eight since it was believed emerald eyes, your eyes, died with the gods.” Al took a second to ponder. “This is going to take a while then! But let me pour us both a pint and I’ll fill you in on a few things you should know. That way you won’t go getting yourself into the wrong kind of trouble.”
Al grabbed a couple of tankards and filled them to the brim with water. “First lesson. Do you know what people with my kind of eyes can do?”
Myst got a good look at Al’s eyes, “From what I was told, people with eyes the colour of sapphires can move and change the look of an object.”
“Not a bad start,” said Al. “Although not quite right. Yes, the weaker of us can only change how an object looks. But the more skilful of us have full control over manipulating them.” Al’s sapphire eyes flashed and one of the tankards slid across the bar, stopping in front of Myst. “Try the ale and let me know what you think.”
“But you filled this with water,” acclaimed Myst, confused at what Al was implying. Myst took a sip from the tankard and to his surprise, he tasted the rich flavour of ale.
“So, what do you think?”
“I’m shocked, it tastes just like real ale”
“That’s because it is,” stated Al. “In the flash of an eye, I can turn water into any other drink that I like. If the taste of it is fresh in my mind. Now follow me, let’s go sit around one of the fires and I’ll give you some more lessons.”
Myst and Al sat down around one of the fires in the corner of the room. Al continued from where he left off at the bar, “What’s next then? I know, I best tell you about the Shifters. Since this is Dartrin after all. What do you know of Shapeshifters?”
“Don’t Shapeshifters have acorn eyes?”
“They do indeed!”
“Other than that, I only know that they’re able to shift into animals.”
“That’s very true. But there are even some powerful Shifters that can keep themselves partly shifted rather than having to make a full transformation. Look over there.” Al pointed to a small group a few seats over from them.
“Oh my, I’ve never seen anything quite like that before. I can’t believe I didn’t notice that they all had tails!”
“That’s very common around Dartrin. After all, it’s ruled by three Shifters who are called the Dark Trinity. They are never seen without sporting their family trait. One has the wings of a bat. Another, the tail of a scorpion. Lastly, and the most powerful of them, he has the horns of a ram.”
Myst was completely taken aback. Only able to look at Al in disbelief. There was much more to Dartrin than he was expecting.
Since Myst had nothing to add, Al continued. “Next up are the Enlightened. Those with ruby eyes. Have you had a run-in with them before?”
“I have, just once. They… they were there the last time I saw my parents.”
Al sat forward, “Is that so? Do tell me more.”
“It… it was the morning I had found my parents dead at our home. I woke up to find them and the bodies of a few Enlightened outside the house. That’s why I’m looking for Shadow. Those that witnessed it from afar had said they saw Shadow with the Enlightened on that night.”
“I see. Very interesting that they were seen together. I best tell you some more about the Enlightened then. They’re known for their intelligence. Their cities are a marvel to see. Completely made up of technology, that the likes of most here would never get to see in their lifetimes. Some of them are even able to predict outcomes just by studying what happens leading up to it.”
“Do you ever see the Enlightened around here?”
“Not very often in these lower parts of the city. They’re normally only found around those in power.”
A huge roar came from the patrons of the Alehouse as the bard began a crowd favourite song. The noise became so deafening that Myst and Al had to pause their conversation. Al started to belt out the lyrics in between gulps of his ale while Myst sat back and sipped away at his drink. Myst watched as the energy of the room rose to another level throughout the song.
Once the song ended, Al leaned in close to the fire again. “I guess now would be the right time to talk about the Sirens. Do you know what colour that bard’s eyes are?”
“I haven’t caught a glimpse of them since I arrived,” said Myst.
“Their eyes are the colour of cherry blossoms. Be careful to keep on their good side though, for they’re not only known for being talented bards. There are countless tales of Sirens enchanting people. All it takes is a simple whisper.”
“With only a whisper? Have you seen someone become enchanted before?”
“I’ve seen my fair share fall under that spell. When I was a young boy there was even one poor soul that was forced to try to assassinate one of the Trinity.”
“What happened to them?”
“They received the punishment for anyone that tries it. The Trinity strung them up from the front gate of the castle, their arms and legs stretched towards each corner of the gate.”
“That… that’s horrible!”
“I do feel sorry for them though, they weren’t in their right mind. But the punishment does fit.”
“Do assassination attempts happen often?”
“Oh, I’d say there’s probably one every other month. Usually, it’s some delusional idiot who thinks they’re powerful enough to dethrone one of the Trinity and take their seat.”
“How close has someone come?”
“Why? Are you planning on doing something stupid?” Al bellowed out a long laugh indicating to Myst that it was time to move on from the topic.
It was coming to the late hours of the night, and the conversation started to draw to a close. One particularly wobbly patron caught Myst’s eye. The drunk patron bumped into another man as he was trying to stumble toward the bar. The other man quickly stood up, towering over everyone around him. “You better watch where you’re going,” he yelled at the drunk patron that was still trying to find a good footing.
“What are you… going to do… about it?” slurred the drunk patron.
“I’m going to teach you some manners!” The towering man roared, raising his hand. As he brought it down, it transformed into the clawed paw of a bear, clobbering the drunk patron across the side of the face. ‘That should teach you!”
The drunk patron lost his balance from the force of the strike and fell against a table. When he looked up, there was a bleeding slash across his cheek. His sapphire eyes flashed, and tankards started flying across the room towards the towering man. Only a couple met their mark. The rest collided with other patrons who were caught in the crossfire.
From the corner of his eye, Myst saw Al gesture toward someone. Just as the two men were about to have a second go at each other, the bard stepped in between them. Myst couldn’t make out what she was saying, but a few seconds later both men looked calmer than they were before the fight broke out. The towering man sat back down and continued to chug away at his drink, while the drunk patron stumbled towards the exit.
“Well, that was some good entertainment for tonight!” exclaimed Al.
“I can’t believe they both walked away from that. I was sure that was only going to end badly for one of them,” said Myst.
“Usually fights like those only get one or two good hits in before we split them up. That’s why having a bard like Nessa comes in handy at the tail end of a night.”
Nessa had started up another song and the roar of the alehouse began to drown out the conversation again.
As one of the songs faded to an end, Myst asked, “About that room. I can’t pay much so I’ll only stay a night or two before I’m on my way.”
“I’ll take what you can pay,” said Al, pausing to stroke his chin. “Although, to make up for it. Are you interested in helping me out with a couple of jobs?”
“I can try to help out as best I can.”
“Great! There’s something that needs to be done down by the docks tomorrow. I’ve been getting some scoundrels trying to hijack my shipments that come in. I need you to go down to the docks and make sure nothing happens.”
“I should be able to do that. Although, I’m not sure how much help I can be.”
“It’s easy stuff. Have you been in a fight before?”
“Only when it’s been necessary.”
“Then you’ll be fine. If anything does happen, give those scoundrels a little roughening up and they’ll scurry right off. So, do you think you’re up to it?”
“Okay, I’ll do my best.”
“Good, come meet me down by the bar in the morning and I’ll let you know how to get there.” Al tossed a key over to Myst, “Here’s the key for your room. It’s up the stairs and the last room on the left.”
“Thanks, Al.” Myst started heading toward the stairs. After a couple of steps, he turned around, “You never told me what information you had on Shadow…”
“I’ll fill you in after the job tomorrow. But for now, you must be tired, so rest up.”
