The Sparkbringer

Chapter Five

   In the morning, we gathered our things and set off back down the path, heading southeast towards Blackport. For the next few days of our travel, we talked all day and sparred well into the night. The practice combat sharpened my swordsmanship and strengthened my magic ability.
    “We’re here,” Elva informed me as we approached a set of gates. “It would seem the King would like to greet us.”
    The gates were already open, a short man wearing a crown and dorned in robes standing at the entrance. He wore a big smile, clearly very happy to see us, and we pulled our horses to a stop in front of him.
    “Queen Elva!” the man exclaimed. “How nice to see you!”
    “And you, King Richard,” Elva smiled and nodded. “It has been some time, hasn’t it?”
    “It has, it has,” Richard seemed very excited. “And who’s this young man with you?”
    “I’m Clovis,” I introduced myself. “Nice to meet you.”
    “You must be the Hero! The pleasure’s all mine, please, come in!”
    We followed the King inside, still atop our horses. The city looked a lot like Faircrest, however the stone walls and streets seemed to be made from placing a bunch of colourful rocks held together by clay. In the distance to our right, I could see various docks jutting out into the ocean. There were an array of boats stationed by the docks, and the movement of citizens both on the shore and on the boats.
    “We’re grateful for you welcoming us into your kingdom, Richard,” Elva thanked him.
    “The Queen of Faircrest is always welcome in Blackport,” he smiled brightly. “After all, I’ve known you since you were just a little baby.”
    “Yes I suppose you have,” she chuckled. “Though your hospitality is appreciated, Clovis and I are only passing through. We’re looking for Vera, and if she isn’t here, we must keep going.”
    “Well, regardless of time length, it is an honour to be graced with the presence of the Hero, and quite a nice surprise to see you again, Elva,” Richard’s smile slowly faded as he sighed. “It’s the circumstances I’m not fond of. Vera was here, just the other day a city patrol was found slaughtered, very obviously by her magic. Our mining town of Cobalt Falls was recently attacked and destroyed as well. We haven’t seen a sign of her since, thank goodness.”
    “I’m sorry to hear about your loss of knights, and Cobalt Falls,” Elva sighed as well. “She is a threat to Annora, and seems to be taking pleasure in weakening us slowly.”
    As we approached the other end of the city, Elva and I thanked the King for his kindness and hospitality once again before setting off back on the path, heading slightly northeast.

   
   As it began getting dark, we came upon a small town to settle into for the night. The town was relatively small, and the entire thing looked like a rundown alleyway. The dirt streets were unnaturally dark brown, darker than the other dirt paths I had seen. All the houses looked run down, and the people seemed to be always anxious.
    “Where are we?” I asked, my eyes surveying the area.
    “This is Knife’s Edge,” Elva was similarly looking all around us. “An unfortunately poor town teeming with thieves and other criminals. It’s not my first choice to stay for the night, but it would be unwise to travel in the dark. Keep your guard up.”
    “Right.”
    We rode through the town, receiving dirty looks from many of the residents. Eventually we stumbled across an inn, hitched our horses on a railing, and went inside carrying all our belongings.
    “Are Snowfire and Ruby going to be ok out there?” I asked, concerned.
    “Nobody in their right mind would go near a horse with ill intentions in their mind,” Elva reassured me. “The horses know, and will protect themselves. I don’t know how, they just do. They’ll be fine.”
    I nodded as we approached the innkeeper, allowing Elva to do the talking.
    “A room with two beds please,” she placed two coins on the wooden counter. “With locks.”
    “Well now locks are gonna cost you extra,” the innkeeper shrugged.
    Elva rolled her eyes and reluctantly placed another coin in front of the innkeeper. He smiled slyly and took the coins, giving her a key in return with the number 9 written on the side. She thanked the innkeeper and we went to the room, the door creaking as we pushed it open. The room was surprisingly nice, given where we were, and we locked the door behind us.
    “At least it’s just for one night,” I sighed.
    “Yeah, let’s just sleep and get it over with.”

   
   I woke up to the sound of shuffling footsteps, and snapped my head in the direction of the noise. There was a man standing over Elva, who hadn’t woken up, with a knife in his hand. I jumped up and drew my sword from the shelf.
    “Elva!” I shouted.
    The man with the knife spun around as Elva’s eyes shot open. Without hesitation, I buried my sword in his stomach, pushing it all the way through his body and pulling it out again. He fell to the ground and I just stared, wide eyed.
    “I suppose I should have expected this to happen,” Elva said as she stood, slightly shaken. “That was a close call. You saved my life Clovis, thank you.”
    “Uh, yeah,” I responded, shaken as well. “I just killed somebody.”
    “Oh, first time?” Elva walked over to my side, taking my sword from me and returning it to its sheath. “It might bother you for a while, but you get used to it.”
    “I think I’m alright,” I nodded.
    “Good,” she smiled, looking at the small window. “It’s nearly sunrise, and we’re up, so we should just get going. I’ll tell the innkeeper of our uninvited guest on our way out.”
    As we gathered our things, my thoughts ran wild. Who was that man? Did he have a family? How did he even get into our room? Maybe the locks aren’t very secure. I just killed someone. I took a life. There will be no consequences. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. It seemed fine. It was meaningless. It was a rush.