Astral Lands

✧ CHAPTER TWO ✧

"You know you didn't have to do that." Emil half whispers as we follow the barkeep to our rooms.

I looked to them. "Yes I did, and you know it." a smile grew on my face as our guide seemed to stomp his boots a little harder than normal.

Emil is probably the nicest person you'll ever meet. They barely talk at all, and get forgotten by the other people in the room, but that only means that it's easier for them to sneak up on you.

"I swear, Elara, one day your hot head is going to be the death of us." Astor grumbled as he bends down to walk through the impossibly narrow hallway.

"I was merely standing up to injustice, if that makes me a criminal, then arrest me." It takes a moment for the joke to settle in before the trio are laughing.

Nyla comes up to walk shoulder to shoulder with me. "What was that about?" I'm about to answer when Astor cuts in.

"I'm guessing Elara never told you how she managed to find her way to Etorus?" Nyla shook her head wordlessly.

The barkeep abruptly turned around, we were at the end of the hall. He looked down at me and silently tossed the key.

He then barreled through us to head back to the downstairs floor. "Don't lose it. You don't get another one." And with that we were all alone in the hallway.

Opening the door, I grimace at the sight. It was obvious that he gave us the worst of his rooms. "At least we have a room." I muttered, before moving aside and letting the rest of the group in.

There were collective signs of disappointment as we dropped off our bags. Dakel checked the clock on his wrist. "We should go ahead and head out if we want to make a pick up."

I nodded as I went to grab my equipment. I make quick work of strapping on a dagger to my thigh, and the other underneath my shirt at my back. I flip open my collapsable knife to make sure the gear still works before sliding it into my boot.

The next thing I pull out is the most important. My meteor hammer puts comfortable weight in my hands. The ball at the end gleams silver, the small red ribbon attached to it helps my tracking while using it. The six feet of rope connected to the ball is still neatly wrapped.

I went to clip the rope onto my belt, fastening it with the weight in the ball attached.

To some this was seens as an unconventional weapon, but on my home planet, Vayle, meteor hammers were as common as swords. But very few have left Vayle. With it being so far away from Solaris, only the upper class can afford to leave.

"So, what was I saying?" Astor begins again, determined to have the truth of my past exposed.

I laugh at his determination. "That you're an idiot and should stop talking."

"Ha Ha," He verbalized. "Very funny Elara."

I shook my head as he got started.

"A few years back, Etorus was sent out on a job in Vayle. Queen Corsia wanted us to meet with a contact to get info on a possible outer planet coup."

Astor then turns to me. "Only when we got to our rooms, Elara was there rummaging through our stuff."

"They didn't even have anything good." I add in.

"Well," Astor continues, "We were fully prepared to arrest her and drop her off at the first station we saw. But our contact turned out to be double timing us, and brought all of their friends to where we were staying."

At this point in the story, Nyla was transfixed with what Astor was saying.

"And this girl," He points to me. "Didn't even hesitate to start fighting with us. I can remember thinking 'this person was just trying to rob us and now is with us.'"