Syle of Kell(concept)

Ch 5 Once for Stealth

    Syle sped up and over the hills, his head low and hooded. The night would provide well enough cover for the journey to Archmage Arakion's abode, especially in the cooling Autumn. Every human, fairy, and dragon would be  retreating from the chill of night, forsaking their Summer bonfires for drinks by the fireplace. With luck, no one would see him at all. He looked over his shoulder to see a dark form flying a distance behind him. The the thing was gliding, but it hardly moved as it rode the air. It was Kimcha, hovering a distance behind like a kite. One would only notice Kimcha if they knew to look for him, and even then the cover of darkness made that difficult. Syle sped on, past the tiny Whitewoods, leaping the increasing amount of stone hedges, and sneaking beneath the windows of those cottages still lit. He quickly arrived at the edge of the  Humanstead. He glanced behind him at the sea of grass and rolling hills. 

   The Humanstead went on for miles, but thankfully his cottage was relatively close to the border. A cold wind blew through his cloak and chilled his skin. He briefly imagined tiny ice crystals forming within the pores of his arms, but he rubbed away the thought. Syle continued onward, traveling the main path towards the center of Kell. The grassland on either side of the road was growing thinner, cottages becoming numerous and more refined. The edges of the road were now lined with a border of chunky crystal that grew thicker further down the path. Syle traveled as quick as he could along the road, the passing windows like watchful eyes, round and irregular and stamped upon wood and stone walls.  Syle veered off the road and walked along a stone hedge that was roughly his height. He was getting close to the Marketplace. The distant noise of people moving, speaking, laughing, and the occasional raucous clank of metal hit him all too suddenly. He peered a little further down the path, and at the end of it stood an iron gate embedded in a stone and crystal barrier. Immediately behind it tall, irregular buildings sprouted up, their hefty mass silhouetted by the fiery orange glow of paper lanterns in their streets. 

Here we are...Syle sidled up to the gate, only the top half of his face visible over the gate doors. The streets were busy, and glowing with a festive red and orange light. A mess of restaurants and vendors-almost exclusively the lower half of Marketplace buildings-were ablaze with the noise of travelers and residents. The walls facing the street were open, Customers wandering in and out while chefs and their kitchens were clearly visible behind counters of hot food. The savory smell of roasting steaks, spice infused chickens, and honey-glazed fish wafted around Syle. He saw them stacked in intricate patterns in the restaurant across from him, the steaks and chicken legs looking plump with meat, the skins crisp with seasoning,  and his mouth began to water. 

"Is that Dragon-spice chicken? They cook that for us at the garrison," Said a voice startlingly close to his ear. Syle leaped up and nearly cracked his skull against the iron gate in shock. "K-kim! When did you?" Breathed Syle, his stomach was on fire with adrenaline, "Don't DO THAT!" His hands shook angrily, his back pressed hard against the gate. Kimcha snickered and rabbit-punched Syle's shoulder with his wing.

"Calm down, Syle. Look," Kimcha motioned to the street beyond the gate. The restaurant seats were filled with humans and fairies, and dragons were yelling their orders from special seating directly outside- they feasted from flat, smooth basking stones that had grown hot during the day. "Most of these people are either travelers, or they're drunk. I say lose the hood. We can walk past this place pretty quickly and get to Arakion's place that way." Kimcha said, the top half of his face orange with lantern light as he peeked over the gate. 

Syle was quiet for a a moment. He looked back over at the busy streets, pinching the edges of his hood wearily. Kimcha was right. There was no way he'd sneak around these people without being noticed, especially with his hood up like some sort of thief. With a deep breath he removed his hood and pressed his palm against the iron gate. It was surprisingly warm despite the wind chill, invitingly so. Syle and Kimcha slipped inside Marketplace. They eased their way past the crowd, narrowly avoiding the path of a rather drunk pair of fairies. The drunk fairies stumbled past, giggling and leaving a dizzying trail of fairy dust behind them. One of them reached out unexpectedly and seductively trailed their finger from Syle's chin to ear. 

"Cutie, Cute rabbit boy. M-Mirax, let's get rabbit boy plastered. Drink til' he sinks- M~Mirax, where'you goin? c'mon!  Ahaha~" The faries pranced away drunkenly, leaving Syle blushing heavily in their wake. Kimcha led him away with a wing, laughing. 

"You do look like a rabbit boy" Kimcha snickered, ruffling Syle's hair obnoxiously, "Hey, that's a thought." Kimcha said slyly.

"What?" Syle said, a little apprehensive at what Kimcha might be insinuating. 

 "Have your parents opened their stores to you yet? If there's one thing I'd die to see it's you drunk off your ass." Syle cut this off quickly, waving the conversation away with his hands.

"Sh! Shut up! Come on, we need to focus," Syle blushed and added  "And yes, they have! They just keep the good stuff to themselves." Kimcha rolled his eyes and cocked his shoulder, completely unconvinced.

"...I bet you're a sad drunk." 

"Kimcha, focus!"

  They began the short walk toward's Arakion's abode, the buildings growing less festive and inviting as fewer lanterns lit their faces. It was beginning to look like night again, and soon Kimcha and Syle found themselves alone amid the dimly lit street. The buildings loomed over either side of them, looking eerily empty and decrepit in the dark. Neither had spent too much time wandering the Marketplace before this, especially not at night. Syle only traveled there for lessons, but had hardly any caldions to trade or spend on luxuries. Kimcha on the other hand did have a rather hefty store of caldions from his parents' wealth, but his time at the garrison kept him too busy to spend it. They looked small and felt very exposed, bathed in unfamiliar lamplight in the middle of the  street.

"Where is this place? You sure you know where you're going?" Kimcha whispered. His head was low, and his wings were tucked tight to his side, making him look thin and small. Syle, however, kept up a brisk pace. He led them down a dark, wet street- much to Kimcha's disgust, as his claws and talons were bare- and around a corner. Finally, they arrived at Arakion's abode.

"Woah..." Kimcha gawked at it, his crest falling flat in awe. It looked more contraption than building. It had a main body of bronze, and a tower with gargantuan gold levers jutting from it in six directions. Each lever was tipped with a giant chunk of crystal of a different color, their facets carved with arcane symbols. Moonlight pooled in these crystals and was beamed out onto the ground, which  was aglow with sharp, rainbow rings of light. How beautiful!  Kimcha thought, to himself. It was hard not to get lost in the slopes, curves, and gleaming bits. Perched above the doorway sat a shy looking ruby statue of a gryphon, its head turned to the side modestly. Beneath it was a sapphire orb tucked under one of its claws with a noticeable crack down its side. Whether this was decorational, neither Syle nor Kimcha knew. The whole building had a space to itself, standing with dignity and elegance amid its neighbors.  

Syle looked up at the crystals, the magnificent gems heavy with moonlight. Their facets stared back at him, and very briefly he felt ashamed. It was just so difficult to tell the truth! He imagined the look on Arakion's face if Syle admitted his wrongdoings. He imagined the scorn and searing disappointment, and his staff. That would be gone and ground  into mulch. Syle shook the thought out of his mind. He had to avoid all of that. 

"Syle," Kimcha stepped beside Syle, and he bowed his head respectfully.

"After you."