Alazarr and the Silver City

Chapter Eight - The Crystal Vial

The party was over and clean up started, Aiden led the way to their respective rooms next to each other.

They got ready for bed and about half way through the night, Jon opened his eyes hearing Aiden snoring through the wall by his bed.

Every time he'd get comfortable Aiden would rattle the windows with his snoring. At home if he couldn't sleep he would sneak out to the library next door and read. He practically lived in that library. It dawned on him that there was the massive library literally just down the hall, he turned around in his bed as Aiden snored again.

He snuck out into the hall lit with moonlight on the rug as he moved barefoot.

Stepping into the library pacing through the rows of shelves, he ran his fingertips over the the crowded shelves.

The smell of books, especially old one's mingled with the dust. He looked up at the ceiling's mural.

The entire thing was one painting from one side of the cavernous room to the other.

Dragons on one side until it reached the image of the king on his throne, mountains behind him with waves lapping at his feet.

there was a inscription,

"The Tale of old, that has foretold

A dragon born king, he shall bring the reign of peace,

Bought with the price,

Of reverent degree,

Silver and Gold eclipse anew.

A day forever true."

Jon wrote it on a scrap of paper.

He went through record books and ship entries but found nothing, hopefully it was safe to assume his dad was still here somewhere.

The next morning he started his search on main street that was lined by market stalls.

He asked at the port master with no luck and went back inland.

The sea softened the crowd's noise, and after an hour or so of exploring the market and rechecking that he hadn't been pickpocketed.

He took a side alley that branched away from the crowds.

He took a left and another left and straight down till he reached two branching paths. The right one seemed to double back to the markets but the left kept veering more and more to the left. It would likely still have to reach the castle so that was that.

The crowd noise was fading as did the sea, he was certainly more inland now, and no one was around anymore; no grocery shoppers or romantic couples or even the occasional street sweeper.

Just him.

The shadows of the buildings were darkening and growing, faded purple turning to dark gray spreading over the stone road.

He was finally met with a wall twice or three times higher than the houses, it was holding up part of the mountain that supported the castle atop it. A colonnade of pillars were carved up and around it, links of alcoves reached the top. The vacant arches housed nests and clumped up moss and vines that were thriving in the shaded space.

He couldn't help but pick off one of the leaves from the stringy ivy. He traced his hand over them and he walked back to the bridge up to the gate. His fingers traced through dew drops pulling the vines along and falling back into place.

A spark of something yellow caught his eye as the leaves curtained back over it. Once he found it again it revealed a golden door knocker; a metal lizard or rather a dragon head was biting down on the knocker. It was weather beaten and tarnished; barely possessing its shape to what it once was. The door itself, much in the same condition, it was also missing its knob to open it.