Tempest

Chapter 2

Small houses and shacks formed in clusters near the edge of the city, but the closer to its heart she walked, the more crowded her surroundings became. The scattered hovels quickly changed from isolated clumps to tight fit shops mashed together with houses. The street bustled with activity, and a fresh layer of snow coated the ground, decorating the rooftops and icing the roads. Amongst the chaos was the occasional sound of laughter that followed the mishap of a person slipping on the sheets of ice that invisibly gathered on the pathway.

A small group of children had taken claim of a large ice section and skated around it. Frequently, they crashed into each other and knocked their friends over as they passed a large stone back and forth, kicking it with their feet.

Dasha watched the stone shoot from the crowd, heading towards a single boy on the edge of the ice sheet. The boy dove for the sliding stone, but it flew past him and into the street. He hit the ice hard and slid a few paces before coming to a stop. Half the children cheered in triumph, but the others grumbled and muttered under their breaths.

The boy lifted himself to his feet, brushed himself off, then went to fetch the stone. It was smoothed down flat and carved into a perfect oval shape. He threw it once more to the center of the ice, and the game continued. Dasha pulled out an empty, leather bound notebook and a charcoal pencil, recording what she saw of the game; the objective, the players, the rules, and anything else she could pull from it. She'd seen the guardsmen play a similar sport in the castle courtyard when time allowed for such activities, and she wished she could join in on the fun, but she could not disobey her father's bidding.

In time, the game came to an end, and Dasha was forced to move on. Down the road a bit, she found a small ladder that led to the rooftops where she knew there'd be a much better view than the one she'd had in the street. She scaled the rungs and pulled herself onto the roof, scanning her sur-roundings while she walked along the edges of the buildings. The roofs grew slanted when she reached the more centered, larger buildings of the city, so she chose a small butchers shop with a flat top, cleared a section of snow, and sat to watch the happenings below.

The man and woman behind the counter just beneath her bore the burgundy crystal rings of the Merchant guild. A man stood on the consumer end, digging through his purse of coins to pay for the meat. His hands were worn and calloused; burn marks spotted his skin, and a black diamond crystal rested in his ring, marking him a Blacksmith.

Dasha jotted down the exchange, noting the coins paid, the meat given, and the Blacksmith status of the consumer. When the man left, another shortly took his place. This one was younger, yet carried a presence with him impossible to ignore. Bystanders' attentions were drawn to him, and people stared from all around. Something about the way he walked, the way he stood, it drew one in.

He was tall and solid, a determined fire in his eyes. When he moved, he strode with power and confidence, and when he spoke to the Merchant, his voice was deep and strong. A thin scar traced down the center of his right eye that evoked curiosity in Dasha's heart. Everything about him fascinated her. He was one of those people that carried such a presence that you knew he was there without ever having to see him. Her father carried a similar presence. She made a note to learn how to walk with the intensity that he walked with. She wanted to be able to draw the eyes of everyone around just by simply having the confidence to be herself.

Something that was draped over his shoulders began to move, glistening an emerald green that matched the man's ring. The creature stretched, revealing a dark, forest-green set of leathery wings and a beautiful green scaled body. Its length equaled the width of the man's shoulders, and the tail coiled around his arm, slithering like a snake with each movement of the beast. It hissed at a child whose curiosity betrayed her, a spark forming in its mouth at her next step.