RE:WRITE

28.0 Candel_Chapter 7: Lasker

If Ashpoole was the jewel of the Fire Kingdom, Beigo was the crown.

Towering red sandstone buildings topped with golden domes filled the skyline. Hordes of pedestrians crowded the richly paved roads, some stopping to browse the windows of the many beautifully decorated stores.

The entire city was enchanted against the harsh desert climate, creating a very different atmosphere inside. Children played in fountains spraying water all over the place, squandering what was otherwise known as the most important resource in the desert.

We walked through the heavy metal gates unhindered, courtesy of Kai's magic paper, and decided to secure lodging for the night. After paying for four rooms with the Inn's own money, we made our way down the busy streets while shopping for local specialties.

The Fire King's palace stood out at the end of the street. No surprise really, since the entire city was built around the palace and every street led to it in the end. Its towers rose up into the sky, shining with a faint red light because of the red tiles that covered the entire palace. It exuded an ethereal air that made it look like a painting from a fairy-tale.

I grabbed a map from a bookstore but it didn't mention the Crumbling Sand village either, so I put it back on the shelf and frowned.

Where had that village come from?

I walked out of the store with a more detailed map of the route to the Fire Goddess' shrine. I estimated that it would take us three days to reach it even though it seemed pretty close on the map, since we'd have to cross several mountains and wade through a sea of lava to get there.

Lily bought a saber to replace her now dull and chipped knife, as well as a small steel shield. Since Lily was 'paying,' I took the opportunity to buy a shield for myself as well.

Kai disappeared for a while but soon returned with three brown parcels and gave one to each of us.

A gift from Kai? If it's as amazing as the ring... I thought, excitedly ripping it open.

I frowned. "What the hell is this?"

"Earrings. You don't want them? I could always take them back." he said, smirking as he reached over to grab them.

"No." I said, tacking on the dull graphite bead. Surprisingly, it didn't pierce through my skin but attached itself to my earlobes instead. "It's rude to take back gifts."

"Thanks Kai. These are beautiful!" said Lily, white pearls shining on her ears.

"I agree. This is wonderful!" said Amy, flicking a dangling red ruby.

"What do they do?" I asked.

"They make you look cool!" he said.

"No, I mean what do they do?" I reiterated.

"They make me feel less embarrassed about hanging out with you guys." he replied with a serious expression.

We continued making light banter as we moved towards the palace. The King was holding an art exhibition and we'd decided to take this opportunity to relax before continuing our journey.

Soon enough, we arrived at the imposing outer gates of the palace and joined the throng of people entering the courtyard. Inside, we saw an impressive assortment of sculptures and paintings as well as other curios.

"Hey, are those the Goddesses?" Lily asked, pointing at a ring of statues at the center of the courtyard.

"I suppose so." I replied, evaluating the depictions of the most powerful entities on Erath.