Kile of Zumada

30. The Waiting Game

Kile had just finished unpacking the room when the girls got back.

"How was it?

"Incredible, and infuriating. Did you know they're not allowed to hunt for recalled books here? Truly, it's anarchy!"

"That was the point, though, wasn't it?" Kile teased.

"Oh, hush up. We still took out something, though. If we're staying here we mind as well do some reading."

Alora held up her book proudly. Lija did the same.

"Huh, maybe I'll have to get one too. I get the feeling there's...less to do here then in the Imperial City..."

Before either girl could confirm his assessment, there was a knock at the door.

"Who could that be?"

Lija opened the door and three burly warriors forced their way into the room. Two women and a man. The tallest one, one of the women, spoke first. She was Djezzi, with a long beadstring tied in her hair and several Skullgifts. She had red, poofing hair and blue eyes.

"Welcome to the City of Anarchs, kids! We're local law enforcement, and we just wanted to let you know that there's actually a toll for entering the city."

Lija frowned, her hands on her swords. "Again with this?"

"Yeah, sorry kid. See, when you come here, you gotta give some of your supplies to the city so the city has supplies. So let's take a look at your things and we;ll figure out what'll cover the fee."

Kile stood up, clenching his fists.

"If that were the case," he said, "then why weren't you at the door to the city?"

The man scoffed, "I told you these kids were too smart to buy it."

The man was well built, and carried a hammer with him. He also had red hair, but he had green eyes and while he wasn't the tallest, he was certainly the bulkiest. His tattooed skin gave him away as Rwalian.

"So you admit it. This was a ploy," Alora accused.

"God damn it Gunter, you need to learn to keep your mouth shut," she snarled.

The other woman, who was also Rwalian and carried two swords, spoke up next. "That's okay. We can just gut them and take it."

She spun her two swords out. They weren't just swords, as it turned out, they were more like giant slabs of sharpened metal roughly beaten into rectangular shapes.

Lija drew her swords in response, and Alora backed into the corner of the room with her belongings. Kile reached for his crossbow, hoping he didn't have to use it.

"You really wanna do this kid?" Asked the leader woman. "You really think you three have a chance against three battle hardened warriors?"

Lija took in a breath, "you do not want this fight." She warned.

"She's right," came a new voice from behind them. The Innkeeper, a grouchy old Imperial woman with short hair and a hunched back approached, drawing the attention of them all. "They might not know that Alexis has rules about spilling blood inside the city walls, but I damn well do and I'll tell her faster than a Maulbeast takes to treesap if you lay as much as a finger on them."

"Relax," said the man, "we weren't actually going to hurt them. Just scare them a bit," he said.

"And take some of their valuables," the Innkeeper scolded. "I'm sure Alexis would be pleased to know that petty theft is occuring in her name."

The leader spat at the ground in the room and shrugged, turning around, "aughk. Fine. She's right, we got better things to do then pick on kids. Let's go."

She waved her hand, and the group followed. It was only on her way out that he saw a pair of hand axes dangling at her side. That spooked him a bit for some reason. Once the group was gone, the Innkeeper sighed.

"Filth, the lot of them. Can't keep a single customer with them pulling stunts like that."

"Who's Alexis?" Alora asked.

"The new leader of this town," she said. "Gerschwin died about 15 years ago, and she took over. Clever girl, she is. No one's exactly sure where she came from, but she's got Djezzi blood, and she asserted herself somethin' fierce. When Gerschwin was around he had a tough time keeping a lid on her, and after he died, nobody could. Her belief is that everyone ought to support themselves, and...well, you can see the results."

She gestured her hands around the Inn. Sure enough, it was sturdy and well built, but its age was showing. Paintings hung on the wall, but some had their glass cracked and had never been repaired. Some had never even been cleaned.

"Honestly they're so obnoxious to me, I'm thinking of leaving. My son and his daughter did, moved back to the Djezzi lands. They decided the shackles of the Djezzi civilization were a sacrifice worth making for the stability they brought," she sighed, "but I'm too old. And even if I weren't, it's people like me that keep people like them from having complete run of the place."

Alora frowned. Kile did too. Gerschwin's dream seemed to have been poisoned. He couldn't imagine what his spirit must be feeling now, watching what he had built wither from within.

"Sorry to hear that," Lija said, sheathing her swords.

"Not as sorry as I am to live it," she snarked back. "This place used to be so beautiful...a real tribute to what people can be when they work together without bureaucracy. Now it's just a place where everyone struggles. Anyway, enjoy the night. I'd give you off on the room for the trouble those guys caused yah, but I need the money."

She hobbled away, and Lija shut the door, and they all went to sleep, too tired to deal with anymore notice.