The crackle of the flames within the lantern was all he could hear beyond the wind that howled below.\u00a0 High above him, the walls of the palace seemed like they stretched on toward the sky, but his focus drew to the view below.\u00a0 The city\u2019s many lights sparkled like a sea of stars, and he knew most everyone slumbered.<\/p>\n
But there were some, he knew, that would still be awake at that hour.<\/p>\n
Huffing and puffing, the young lad he had fetched earlier returned up the earthen ramp, a grin upon his face.\u00a0 \u201cI found him for you, mister,\u201d he cried, holding out his hands.\u00a0 \u201cI found him!\u201d<\/p>\n
Far behind the boy, a burly man labored his way up the incline, hunched over from the journey.\u00a0 From there, the only thing the visitor could see was the top of his head, but even in the darkness, he noticed the man\u2019s hair was marred with sweat.<\/p>\n
\u201cRun along, child,\u201d the man at the overlook said, flicking three coins into the air.\u00a0 One by one, the boy caught them, and he wasted no time running off into the night.\u00a0 The visitor offered no words to the new arrival, neither of encouragement nor condemnation.\u00a0 He simply waited for the man to reach him and catch his breath.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re Faradorn?\u201d the burly fellow wondered.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you\u2019re late, Gillette.\u201d<\/p>\n
Propping himself up as best he could, the man offered as sincere a smile as he could.\u00a0 \u201cYou can call me James, if you like.\u00a0 And you have my apologies.\u00a0 It\u2019s just\u2026 I waited here for hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd you were paid well to do so,\u201d Faradorn said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an excessive delay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it was an excessive amount of coins.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gillette lifted his hands in concession, still wearing that mercantile smile.\u00a0 \u201cRight you are.\u00a0 You paid handsomely, and I suppose I should have been here.\u00a0 But I thought you would simply not show at all.\u00a0 It was far later than I had ever expected to see someone here.\u201d\u00a0 For a fraction of a second, that smirk was replaced with an arching eyebrow.\u00a0 \u201cYou do know what I do here, right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re a guide,\u201d Faradorn said.\u00a0 \u201cYou show people the more important things there are to know about this city.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight again.\u00a0 Seems you know an awful lot about me and an awful lot about this place.\u00a0 What is it you even need me for?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI may have done my research, but there\u2019s a level of familiarity you have that would give me infinitely more insight to this place.\u00a0 I\u2019ve paid your fee.\u00a0 If it\u2019s not too late, I\u2019d see you perform your duties and show me what this has to offer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Almost prying his pursed lips apart, Gillette nodded and endeavored to smile one last time.\u00a0 \u201cIn that case, welcome to Versali-Virai.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2026And if you\u2019re ever in need of a hot pork sandwich, there\u2019s no better place to get it than Dessam\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their trip had been meticulous, with Gillette stopping every so often to announce the history of a particular shop or whisper rumors about a tawdry affair.\u00a0 Over-rehearsed as it was, Faradorn still found it amusing when his boisterous descriptions were met with angry shouts for silence.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll not be needing food during my stay here.\u00a0 Just a place to rest my head where I don\u2019t have to worry about catching bugs of any sort.\u201d<\/p>\n
The guide\u2019s nostrils flared as he considered that statement, and he cocked his head to the side.\u00a0 \u201cWell, I suppose the King\u2019s Charter is as fine a place as any to hang your hat, if you had one.\u00a0 It\u2019s a bit too pricy for my tastes\u2014I\u2019m naught but a humble guide, after all\u2014but you\u2019re more than likely equipped to handle the cost.\u00a0 We\u2019ll actually be passing it on the right here in a few moments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Street lamps lined that wide road, and just beyond, a quartet of them illuminated an intersection.\u00a0 Faradorn looked at each one discriminately, until a new voice reached his ears.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFancy seeing you this way this late at night, eh, James?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGarvey!\u201d the guide cried, his voice cracking beneath his exuberance.\u00a0 His friend arrived beside them, and the two men shared a handshake.\u00a0 \u201cYou know me.\u00a0 My job is never done.\u00a0 This is Faradorn, a new arrival to the city.\u00a0 I was just telling him the King\u2019s Charter is a nice place to rent a room.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, if you\u2019re the king,\u201d Garvey said.\u00a0 \u201cCosts a pretty bit of gold the likes I never see in a week just to spend a night there.\u201d\u00a0 He stopped himself when he caught a look of Faradorn\u2019s stern gaze.\u00a0 He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sorry, mister.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t mean to presume.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA man of your renown surely has his connections,\u201d the visitor said to Gillette, ignoring the irksome fellow.\u00a0 \u201cWho would I inquire as to a bargain on one of those rooms?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell I\u2026 I suppose Bernard would be a good place to start.\u00a0 He minds the tavern, but I\u2019m sure a few coins at the bar could help you work your way to a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cExcellent.\u00a0 I shall make note of that for my return.\u00a0 Shall we continue with the tour?\u201d<\/p>\n
Gillette turned his head so quick it looked like had been slapped.\u00a0 He squared his jaw and nodded to his friend.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll see you some other time.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBest of luck,\u201d Garvey said.<\/p>\n
Faradorn was already walking before his guide could show him the various sights in the southern side of the grand city.\u00a0 The stranger seemed drawn to the lights, the cast metal lanterns just out of reach if the tall fellow lifted his arm up to them.<\/p>\n
Gillette had to jog to catch up to his client, his heft swinging with every stride.\u00a0 \u201cIf you needed me, you wouldn\u2019t be walking off yourself,\u201d he said, attempting a semblance of confidence.\u00a0 \u201cYou paid me to show you about, and I will.\u00a0 I\u2019ll cut the idle chitchat, if that\u2019s what you want.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s no bother.\u00a0 I wanted to admire these designs.\u00a0 These lights are all over the city.\u00a0 You could see them from the overlook.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, they\u2019re almost everywhere.\u00a0 But surely you\u2019ve seen street lamps like these before.\u00a0 Where did you say you were from again?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t,\u201d Faradorn pressed.\u00a0 At that, he began walking again, passing through the intersection to the southern street.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t keep going that way,\u201d Gillette said.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s nothing out there but another path out of the city and of course the cemetery.\u00a0 And this time at night\u2026 Well, who knows what lurks in the shadows?\u201d<\/p>\n
Sure enough, the visitor saw the edge of one pair of Versali-Virai\u2019s gates.\u00a0 They were closed at that point, with the only true entrance being the one just beneath the palace at the overlook.\u00a0 Faradorn was pleased not to have travelled to that gate, though he did take some small satisfaction in the sight of the lamps that clung about that place too.<\/p>\n
\u201cLead on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The crackle of the flames within the lantern was all he could hear beyond the wind that howled below.\u00a0 High above him, the walls of the palace seemed like they stretched on toward the sky, but his focus drew to the view below.\u00a0 The city\u2019s many lights sparkled like a sea of stars, and he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1983,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[145,146,444],"tags":[38,1219,1220,1218,790],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Versali-Virai-Flipped.jpg","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1UVey-PQ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3214"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3214"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3215,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3214\/revisions\/3215"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tellest.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}