Celie had been walking through the outskirts of Capital for most of the day. The weather was damp and windy but the streets were still jammed with people busy making their final preparations for winter. Final batches of crops were being auctioned off and the last of the fruits were going to market. Prices were at rock bottom, as traders looked to get rid of the last of their wares before the cold arrived in full.
Celie had found a gem trader and managed to get some silver for a couple of the tiny blue stones. She hadn’t traded them all in as she wanted to keep a little something for emergencies. She was just about OK for money for a little while longer but knew as well as anyone, money had a habit of disappearing all too fast. So, she was careful with the food she ate and places she stayed.
She had avoided inns and crowded places in the five weeks since leaving Calder, not only to save money but also in case some of the nobles decided to pursue her. But she had thought this unlikely. Wells - Celie found herself using the new word she’d learnt - were often more talk and bluster than action. Besides the way they had talked about the Sneak, she had probably done them a favour by killing him. So, it was about time she started learning what she could about the Y’Kara compound and its whereabouts in the Capital.
All she knew so far was that the Y’Kara Duke thought Lerrick important enough to send six affines to escort him to the safety of the compound. She hadn’t given much thought as to why that might be. Wells were always looking for new ways to kill each other.
Dusk was beginning to settle over the rooftops. She would reach the walls of the city proper tomorrow, so it was best to go and find out what she could now. She picked a fairly typical looking inn along the street. It had a ‘no space’ sign above the door but she wasn’t going there to sleep, just to listen.
As she entered the noise hit her. The common area was extremely crowded. Half the people were standing and sharing a drink, presumably after a hard day’s work. The other, luckier half were sat crowded around tables, again sharing a drink, presumably after a hard day’s work.
She dodged and weaved her way to one side catching the eye of a serving girl as she went. The woman came over to her and offered a cup and filled it with beer from the jug she carried with her. The waitress however, kept hold of the cup’s handle before Celie duly handed over the required two coppers. Having taken ownership of the beer, she leaned quietly against the wall, looking around for an appropriate group to eavesdrop on.
She didn’t anticipate any sort of trouble tonight. There were plenty of working women, dotted around the floor plying their trade. A skinny little Forester woman leaning quietly up against a wall, with a bow slung across their shoulders wasn’t likely to attract that kind of attention. Especially, when the skinny little Forester woman smelled very similar to someone who had spent the last month walking through dirt and woodland without a proper bath. Very similar indeed.
So, Celie watched quietly and listened to the various conversations going on around her. There was the usual talk about work but she also heard numerous mentions of the Tourney. It appeared that it was scheduled for a couple of day’s time and there was a fair bit of debate about the likely winner. The usual Houses were mentioned, but it wasn’t that set off an alarm on Celie’s mind.
It was the moment she heard that a contingent of Archers from Mabel Forest had come up to the city for the Tourney that got her on edge. Why would a group of Forester Archers be coming to the Tourney, unless they were going to take part. But that could only mean one thing, the contest was for the accuracy spark. But there was already a sparked accuracy affine. Medhi, she seemed to remember his name was.
Her curiosity got the better of her at this point, so she turned to the barmaid hovering around this part of the room and casually asked, “I hear a lot of talk about the Tourney, but what spark did the Seekers find?”
The maid gave her a look of disdain, reserved especially for ignorant country folk and said, “They found nothing new. Medhi was killed.”
Celie digested what this news meant. All the best Archers would be taking part, including, she realised, Lerrick Y’Kara. This explained the seemingly overcautious actions of House Y’Kara. They no doubt believed Lerrick could win, making him a serious target for one of those ways Wells enjoyed killing each other. She fell back and slumped against the wall. This was not good news.
Getting to Lerrick would have been incredibly difficult before this news. Now, it would be impossible. He would be safely secured away in the Y’Kara compound until the day of the Tourney. She then began resigning herself to postponing the death of Lerrick until after the Tourney but one thing worried her about this idea. What if he won? What if he became a Seeker? He would be untouchable then.
He couldn’t win, she thought. There must be someone out there better than him but she felt uneasy at the thought. Lerrick by all accounts was very good. Very very good.
She changed her mind. She couldn’t take the chance of him winning the Tourney, she would have to find a way to get to him in the next couple of days.
As she stood there thinking on how to achieve this impossible task, a largish Terron stepped up towards her and said, “Hi Darlin. How much?”
Celie turned towards the man. Apparently, smelling like dirt and carrying a bow wasn’t enough to deter all men. The man towered over her by about two feet and his breath still stank.
As he reached his arm out to grab her, Celie looked him in the eye and said, “Don’t you dare touch me.”
The man hesitated.
Celie stared coldly at him, not taking her eyes off him. Almost daring him to carry on.
Looking at the little Forest woman staring back at him, the man slowly retracted his hand and mumbled, “Grubby Foresters,” before turning towards his attention to another woman. This time, one without a bow.
Celie, shook her head and walked out of the inn.
The wind had dropped and only a few clouds remained in the night sky, as she wandered away from the street towards a small copse of trees in the distance. It looked like a nice place to spend the night. Cheap and free of men looking for stuff.
YOU ARE READING
Chasing Sparks
Fantasy[Completed] [The Affinity Series: Book 1] The affinities are echoes of magic from a time long past, giving enhanced powers to those that have them. And for any affines that bond with a spark, their powers are increased. One such sparked affine is Ti...
