Incubus I (UNDER EDITING)!!!

Chapter 2: A Cup in the king's Name ✅

When the sun sank into its nest in the west right behind the castle, he watched and observed most of the kingdom from the top of the tree he was sitting on. He watched until the lamps were lit in the houses, and the smoke rose from the kitchen of houses preparing dinner. He had been without good food for a few days but fruit and water. He had the option of turning east to towns like EastHaven, Riverdale, and BarrenHeights a port town known for its iconic lighthouse. This particular town had been the home of Storlgar's navy for generations, and the first line of defense, from attacks on her territorial waters. It would have been an excellent option to go down there for sightseeing, but it was about a week away on foot and he had neither strength nor stamina for that so he turned to the city. He had watched the city gates and noticed how the soldiers stopped young men trying to match their faces to the Posters all over the city. Going back was a risk but he knew it was one he had to take, especially for the sake of his aunt whose safety the hoped was secured for the city's sake.

Deciding to take the risk, he waited out the next border scout patrol before jumping to the ground and walking toward the city. He crouched in the grass on approaching the gate wanting to count the guards there. Although he had alternative routes, the city would have slept by the time he made it in, leaving this one option only. He spotted a group of farmers returning to the city with their wagons, and the weary soldiers at the gate did little or no checking at all as the complacency of their shift being almost over had hit them. He was tempted to let the sky darken, but another scouting team could find him there any second. He numbered the soldiers carefully, ten in all. convinced, he hung his bow on his shoulder so it stretched from one side of his body to the other. And drew his quiver over the other arm. Then covered himself with an old ragged cape he pulled from his bag, long enough to cover from his head to his knees, barely revealing his face.

Confidently he strode towards the last set of farmers, walked in through the gate with them, and into the city without a fuss. When he had himself enough distance from the gate he stopped to take a look at the city from there. He was standing on the one road that led to the castle from the gate. It wasn't something he saw every day. The houses, flowers, noble's workshops, offices, theatres, bookshops, and everything along that Street radiated the magnificence of the nobles of Strolgar. The commoners never came near here except those working for the cruel nobles. The thought of working for those creeps make his stomach turn whenever he thought about it. He began walking down the road looking at the buildings one after the other. This was the road the armies passed when going out to war, exhibiting their glorious armor. Which he loved to watch as a kid. He even dreamt of being among them. But that was all in the past now, gone with a memory he never wanted to remember, though he was already drifting off.

A rumble in his stomach brought him back to the present. He hadn't even figured out where to go since he got in, he couldn't visit any Tavern, that's too risky for a man the king is looking for, but he couldn't go home either, besides he wasn't sure his aunt was home, it had been almost a week since that night. He decided to go to a friend of his aunt's as he changed his direction off the street into a path leading to the slums. He watched the castle with deep contempt as he walked, till It was eclipsed by another building. He walked, turning away from places with soldiers, and occasionally just walking past them where they were few.

The aroma of different kinds of food and the smell of the filthy environment greeted him as he descended into the slums. He smiled as he walked in their midst, it did feel good to be home, to see familiar faces, but he didn't take off the hood. Although the smell of some people, houses, and drainage systems, we're sickening, he had gotten used to it all. This place held a lot of memories for him, the struggle for survival, stealing, getting chased, getting beaten, and all. He kept reminiscing as he walked over to the house. He noticed a band of guards as he approached the house, which infuriated him. He involuntarily changed his direction and began to walk away, but it was a second too late.