Soul of the Sorcerer - Part Three: Daughter of the Dragon (6 page)

Emperor Celeon leapt from his four poster bed with the sprightliness of a man much younger than his fifty years. He lifted his arms as two bald male attendees, who had been standing ready by the door of the large bedroom, rushed in to remove his long white sleeping garment.  This was actually quite a challenge for them as he was about six foot four in height. Celeon, it had been said in quiet circles, had the face of an Emperor, a strong largish nose, ever so slightly up turned and ice blue eyes which seemed to stare right through you. His hair was in the process of turning grey to white, this was not only on his head, but also his skinny torso.

“Tell me, is it royal market day today?”

“Yes, Imperial Majesty” the older of the attendees replied.

“Good, Good, I will treat my love to a gift.” he said rubbing his hand together as his attendees lead him across the sand stone floor towards the entrance to his bathroom. This room, which was twice the size of his bedroom, had felt much warmer of late, possibly because he knew the love of his life would be there! He marvelled at the absolute all-consuming love he had for Lameath, who had walked into his life last year and had gripped his heart like a vice! It was weird really, but inconsequential, he mused; as he had always wondered if perhaps the female of the species wasn’t really for him.

He entered the bathroom and was immediately hit by the warmth, which caused condensation to form on every surface. There was so much steam in the room these days that he could hardly see the rear of the room. His eyes immediately fell on Lameath whose bright azure eyes, floating like bright stars in her skin of darkest ebony, sought his hungrily.

She stood up in the water to reveal a well-toned yet curved body with breasts that any man and many a woman would die for...in different ways of course!

Celeon was not interested in her body, it was not attractive to him in the least, just her eyes, I must see her eyes...their eyes locked and the world was at peace and my how fantastic her body was, how could he not have found her attractive? We must rush the wedding through as soon as possible!

Lameath ran her hands through her wet, long dark hair, “My love do join me.” she soothed “Themisia, help our lord into the bath.”

Celeon watched as his loves handmaiden emerged from the steam, she too had a skin of ebony, although possibly not so dark; she also had bright red hair, currently braided into two plaits running down her back. She wore a simple light brown dress. Celeon did not like looking in this one's eyes as they were the saddest eyes he had ever seen, beautiful blue eyes, yes; but they screamed save me! Not that it bothered him, he decided, as his eyes locked again with his love’s. Themisia, the sad looking young lady, took his arm and lead him into the bath. He noticed that she seemed to struggle to walk correctly and also kept staring into the back corner of the room with fear, before nodding and turning her face to the floor...he seemed to remember noting this before, but did it matter? Certainly not he thought as he became consumed by the look of his bride to be.

“What plans today my Imperial Love?” She said consuming the Emperor's every thought.

“Today my love I wish to buy you a wedding present at the royal market!” Celeon said with a self-satisfied grin on his face. He barely noticed her eyes flicker to the same corner of the room her hand maiden kept looking to and her briefest of head nods with a wry smile.

“That will be delightful my love, lavishing me with presents is the best way to show me your undying love!” His Ebony seductress cooed as she gently straddled her husband to be.

The journey to the heart of the old city had been an enjoyable one for the daughters of Ingemar, with many an opportunity for idle banter and to soak in the sights, sounds and people of the city.

Edala had particularly enjoyed the ride and the overnight camp that had been required, as it gave her a street level opportunity, rather than a Dragon Form one, to case many residences of the rich who, no doubt, would be more than happy to spare a coin or two for the daughter’s charitable interests.

Their wagon finally breasted a hill which overlooked the heart of the ancient city, and for all its size and complexity the sight was still beautiful.

At its centre the river Kon could just be seen, ever widening, as it entered the sea. The large bridge, which spanned it,  was constructed from huge blocks of sandstone, the fragile original wooden bridge had been replaced hundreds of years ago. Even now the bridge evolved; through a frame of wooden scaffolding the construction of twelve new square towers could be seen along the bridge. Between the towers were a number of wooden timber framed buildings, a mixture of homes and shops.

On top of a low hill on the northern side of the river the Imperial Palace could be seen. The palace itself was a square shaped building, with a large courtyard and gardens contained in its centre. It was constructed of sandstone, as was the rest of the major architecture of Kon, but although equivalent in height to most buildings with two storeys, it could be seen from the columns and windows that the palace was in fact only single storey, it therefore must have had very high ceilings on the inside.

The palace was surrounded by a wall, about twenty feet in height and had a moat. The moat, however, had long ago been drained of water and had been widened to allow events, such as the imperial market to run and this was the destination to which Edala and her sisters now headed.

The wagon made its way, bobbing down the cobbled streets, to the river and the bridge. In some streets, just like back in Oldwealth, local residents had to remove washing lines and other obstacles for the wagon to pass.

Although, on occasion, the person may have been a touch grumpy, they soon brightened when one of the daughters tossed a coin their way.  

Within an hour they were making their way across the bridge crossing the river Kon and Edala marvelled at the range of activities being undertaken by those currently on the bridge, most of which she noted seemed to be nothing to do with actually crossing it!

The Imperial Bridge, to give it the official title bestowed upon it some three hundred or more years ago when it had first been constructed of stone, was home to all manner of trades and services. Prominent among these were street vendors plying all manner of foods, some fresh for those who wished to fill their groceries, others filled the air with cooking aromas from places far and wide, catering to all manner of palates.

Edala’s stomach rumbled when she smelt some kind of spicy concoction which she could see bubbling gently in a large pot to one side on a small portable stove. Next to this was a small cart with a small heavily cloaked man leaning against it, he waved goodbye to the two customers he had just served and Edala could tell by the colour, or lack of it, in his hand, that he was an albino. Being cloaked so, indicated that he obviously did not want to draw too much attention to his condition. Edala briefly recalled a happier time with Lloyd on Horace Burnaby’s yacht along with the two albino twins Airon and Ziron.

Curiosity and hunger got the better of her. “I’m just going to grab a snack.” She said to the others as she lifted her skirt, rather un-lady like, to leap from the front seat of the wagon.

As she approached the vendor, through the mass of people currently slowing the wagons process across the bridge, he lifted his face to smile at her and she was pleased to see that there was warmth in his smile, if not in his unnerving red eyes; of course it was difficult to tell! He looked to be about forty years of age.

“Hello pretty lady.” he said with a toothy grin and an accent, although not strong, which she could not place. Edala quickly scanned the cart next to the pot, and she could see several square loaves of bread, with a thick crust, which had been cut in half and scooped out to make edible eating bowls.

“Errrm, what’s it called?” She said pointing at the pot.

“Tasty meat, you like?” he said with obviously only a rudimentary understanding of the common tongue.

Edala lifted her index finger into the air. “ONE PLEASE” she said in a loud voice to help him understand her!

“NO NEED SHOUT PRETTY LADY” he said with a grin and in a volume matching her own, “I KNOW YOUR SPEAK GOOD SEE?”

He proceeded to grab one of the loaf bowls and used a ladle to pour a scoop of the light brown meaty mixture into it. He also grabbed a short length of dried river reed from a bag at his side for Edala to use as a disposable spoon.

“One silver earl” he then demanded at normal volume extending an open hand towards Edala.

“How much!” The pretty Dragon-Girl almost spat her first mouthful of the spicy yet tasty meal directly into his hand in shock!

“Me cheapest here!” He said gesturing to a range of other food vendors nearby, “Emperor expects taxes.” he added apologetically.

Edala remembered the recent increases in taxes imposed by the imperial court and she reached into her purse to retrieve the ten tin bits which were the equivalent of the silver earl. The albino thanked her and placed the coins in his pocket.

Although albinism did occur occasionally with births in the Crescent Empire or the Kingdom of Kalana, Edala wondered if this man was a foreigner to these lands.

“So do you come from across the western sea?” she asked after swallowing another mouthful. She tried to remember the place that Kenelm’s cousin Jeremiah had spoken of, “Júarn?” she added after a moment.

“No pretty lady, near Júarn yes. Jithi’s home is Limúarn, the next island realm. Not so nice!” As he finished he lifted his sleeves to reveal two scarred brand marks just above his wrists. Edala winced at the universal system used by slavers to brand their property.

“Jithi’s family enslaved. But Jithi run to here many years ago!” he said with a shrug.

“Is everyone from Limúarn an albino?” Edala asked.

“Mostly pretty lady, mostly.” He concluded. Edala thanked him for the information and made her way back towards the wagon, which had made only about fifty yards progress since she had jumped off.

“What was that all about?” Justina asked, referring to the extended conversation she had just witnessed between her younger sister and the food vendor.

“Nothing really, I’m just a little worried about what a wealthy friend of mine may have got himself into!” she replied settling back into her seat on the wagon to continue to tuck into her lunch.

The wagon continued with its slow journey towards the palace.

Far across the western sea, Horace Burnaby, pirate captain, philanthropist, wealthy merchant and shrewd businessman was in a situation which was certainly giving him some cause for concern, but possibly not quite what Edala had been imagining!

“PLEASE STAND UP, ALL OF YOU!” he ordered with exasperation, but with very little sign of his Kalanan accent; something he was particularly proud of after only a couple of months in this foreign land, “I am not a man who has slaves.”

The five female and seven male albino slaves, rose silently from the floor of the large marble audience hall.  Horace Burnaby turned to the twelve tall chairs at the head of the room to stare at the six female and six male senators of the “Bremethren”; the elected leaders of the land of Limúarn. Each of these was an albino, but in size and build they were all very different. Some were beautiful creatures, others had hideous deformities, ranging from a clawed hand and a twisted jaw to even one poor chap with no nose. Some also were riddled with scars, the result of magical battles. It reminded Horace that each of these was a Wizard or “Wielder” as they called it this side of the sea. This made his uncomfortable
Itch,
as he called it, itch like crazy and he wondered if the
thingy’s
back home in Kalana might have been a better option!

The Bremethren sat in the order of male, female, male, female, with the youngest towards the outside and the eldest two in the middle.

The eldest woman, who Horace guessed was in her late sixties, smiled at him patiently, wrinkles deepening around her eyes and mouth as she did so.

“Horace Burnaby, you have returned our missing sons to us, the two are now again four. For this you will be eternally recognised as a friend of the Bremethren, so you will take your reward with gratitude!”

“And with no more argument!” The old man sitting next to her, who had not a hair on his head, said less patiently with a glare at Horace.
Itch.

“You are most gracious Senator Cathiana, I will take your rewards with gratitude and make my way to my camp on the beach. Would it be possible to say goodbye to Airon and Ziron before I depart?”

Horace noticed a flicker of irritation cross many of the faces.
Itch.

Senator Cathiana, placed a hand on her male counterpart, before he could snap the words that Horace could see building.

“It is not an unreasonable request, Jakarn...Horace Burnaby I am afraid that they are currently undertaking training with their brothers. But if it pleases you, when your ship is finally rebuilt please send us word and I will personally escort them to the beach to bid you a final farewell.”

“Thank you Senator, that would be more than kind.” Horace said with a very gracious smile, “With my twelve new crewmates here I’m hoping to pick up the pace of repairs. But I still fear it could be over a month before we are ready to go.”

With that the little man bowed deeply to the senate and turned towards the exit, “Come on you lot!” he said towards the slaves; who immediately ran after their new master heads bowed in respect. Horace Burnaby sighed and wished he could scratch that damn itch!