The Unbidden: A New World (1) (Short Parts)

Part 53

I ordered a mug of wine and waited roughly an hour. I was patient, so the waiting wasn't terrible. I also ended up getting a piece of juicy steak that had been marinated in a savory honey-type sauce as well. The entire meal was worth fifty silver, but by God when I first bit into the steak was I whisked away.

The steak was succulently dulcet, but the light bitterness of salt mixed the flavors into some strange combination that assaulted my taste buds. It was as though I had taken a bite of ambrosia. I hadn't realized how watery my mouth had gotten at the thought of taking another bite. I ate a few more bites of the steak before getting up the courage to dive into the Mos'ra.

Fighting the urge to devour the rest of the honeyed steak, I hesitantly took a bite of the fish. It was meaty and dense with a bite to it. It contrasted drastically to the sweetness of the steak, but it was also extremely savory.

I ended up sitting there for a while enjoying the food. I'd never tasted anything so good in my life, whether previously or currently. As I finished up and prepared to head out, seven guards showed up with two robed individuals.

Before I even had a moment to speak, the guards approached me.

"You are under arrest. Come with us," one said sternly as they moved to grab me by the shoulders.

Several of the patrons looked at me curiously, and I simply shrugged. There was only one reason for me to be arrested, so I was pretty content letting them take me to a dungeon where I was brought into a barred room. There was a single table with dried blood stains coating most of the side I was sat at.

A tall elf with lustrous black hair and no obvious imperfections on his face sat on the other side. His clothing were seemingly spotless as well. His appearance was vastly unnatural compared to the deteriorated walls and floor of the cell. The guards and robed individuals who escorted me departed the room and, presumably, the area.

"Are you the one asking questions about magic?" his smooth voice resounded against the stone as he spoke.

"I am," I responded curtly.

It was probably in my best interests not to mess around, at least for now. The last thing I wanted was to incur the wrath of an entire country.

"For what purpose are you seeking that information?" His gazed bored into – no – through me.

If I hadn't intended to be here in the first place, I'd have been more uneasy.

"I know your country possesses a military force of mages. I wish to speak with your head mage."

His eyes searched my face, looking for any indication I was deceiving him.

"I have no idea as to why you came to believe such baseless rumors, but we have no force of mages, and have not had any," as the words rolled off his tongue, it was an unseen sweetness that made my vision begin to sway slightly.

My mind immediately flashed back to my initial encounter with Vel'Nysa. I calmly lifted my hand and pointed at him.

"Freeze," I sighed.

A faint red aura surrounded the interrogator as his body seized up, mouth agape as he was about to speak. His eyes searched around in momentary confusion. Were he able to look surprised, I was certain he would've been.

"Look, I don't know if this is an elf-thing, but I'm not particularly interested in your attempts to charm me," I paused to think about how I wanted to proceed.

It wasn't likely he was going to comply, considering I probably seemed very hostile. I bit my cheek in annoyance, and reluctance.

"You will bring me to the head of your mage order," I stated firmly and directly.

When his eyes glazed over slightly, I released the previous spell.

"Yes," he responded simply.

From the dungeons, I was led outside and to another building. It was apparently called The Bastion, and was where the mage or resided.

"Who is the head mage?" I asked idly as we walked through the building.

"High Priest of Kle'Xa, Belmohd."

The room I was taken into was brightly lit by chandeliers and torches along the walls. The windows were built in a similar shape to the other elven buildings – coming up in a long oval before ending in a point.

I directed the interrogator to fetch him, and he did without hesitation.

I hate using this, I grimaced at my use of the charm.

However, in hindsight, I probably could've just charmed one of the mages and had him direct me to Belmohd. Moments later, the interrogator returned with a high elf who was certainly in the later stages of life. He had gray hair with a long gray beard that wrapped around itself and was held at the base by a golden ring and long cream-colored robes fitted with gold inlays of various creatures.

His dull blue eyes bored into me for a while.

"Alinoi Fersabith," he chanted in a raspy voice.

The interrogator who had graciously brought me here glanced around in a dazed and confused matter.

"You may take your leave," he motioned to him.

When the interrogator left, Belmohd stroked his long beard gently.

"I have a few questions for you, as I am certain you do me ... as the guest, you may have the floor first," he mused with a smile.

I returned a smile of my own.

"My name is Xavier, and I'm an adventurer with Mercer's Mercenary guild. We hail from the north and are here to subjugate the dragons your kingdom's having trouble with," I bowed.

"I am interested in utilizing an area you have set aside for use by mages you are training in secret to practice my own spells."

Belmohd's brow raised curiously.