Algernon Black || The Rise of a God ||

(Chapter 34) When Good Fortune Arrives

Jared worked through the capital city of Etilia as jumbled as the tightly packed crowd of travelers and locals did. Due to the country's constant trading, there was a diverse population among the citizens, and no one questioned why a man of Jared's background was there as he wandered toward the castle. When he had passed it on the ship, it was half the size of Attwood and made with the specific architect of the Eastern lands, with wide curves and graceful swirls. The greatest defining difference between the two was its bleached white appearance, cleaned every day by the rough ocean waters. And as beautiful as it looked, it mostly looked impenetrable. And Jared had to get inside.

He sighed, grating a hand through his hair.

If he spoke with anyone from their government he may be able to work his way in just by saying he attended Attwood. It made him honorary nobility and he could usually flaunt that for his advantage, but if they questioned his motives for being there, he didn't think they would like his honest answer.

He was still debating the best means to break in when a man bumped into him.

"So sorry," Jared apologized, balancing the arm of a hooded man who had almost fallen to the ground.

The man put a hand on Jared's arm to use for support as he found his footing.

"It's alright, child," The man replied.

Jared thought child was a strange thing to call him when they looked to be about the same age, or were they?

The stranger smiled at him from under his hood but hide his eyes, and for a second Jared paused. He seemed unusually familiar, but at the same time not at all.

"Stop following me," the strain in the voice redirected Jared's attention back to the streets, as the man disappeared into the crowd.

Jared thought he heard a girl's voice but when he turned around, he saw a young boy with the white and purple robes of Etilia's emblem. He walked ahead of a well-built young man who kept a close pace behind him.

"But I came to make sure you would be ok, Selice," Loy said, angling his head right before her face and grinning down with a wide lopsided smile. "You never know someone might try to kidnap you."

The servant's posture noticeably stiffened and Jared saw the flash of red on his cheeks before his entire face shifted, and then he saw a woman. 

"Out of this entire city, you're the one most likely to do that." The servant huffed, and in less than a second was back to looking male.

Loy let his head fall back with a smile. "You have no idea how right you are."

Jared's eyes widened in fascination. He followed the servant, wondering if what he had seen was correct. As he looked closer, he saw through the effects of the magic. It made her less visible as if he was seeing her through a foggy lens and would be unnoticeable for anyone that wasn't used to seeing the effects of magic stones, but he had taken an interest in shift stones when he tried to get one for Lucy. The best stonemasons only promised him the shifting would last a few months and they were way too expensive to keep buying. Most stones were that way, hard to come by in the first place, and only affordable for the wealthy. He searched the girl for a sign of a stone and saw a thin chain around her neck that disappeared into her robes where he assumed her pendant was hidden. He just wondered how such a powerful stone was afforded by a servant, and why?

"Devane is going to scold you for skipping out on whatever it is you're really supposed to be doing," Selice said as she walked into the apothecary's shop.

Loy's smile dropped at the very real possibility of that happening.

Jared followed the pair inside. The servant was going about her duties, gathering a plethora of bottles and herbs, while the man wandered aimlessly picking up every nick-nack as he went.