The Flames of Deception - A Horizon of Storms: Book 1 (42 page)

“
He was scratched!” Thadius scoffed. “ My back got
ripped open by that creature and I haven’t seen so much as a
groat
from your coffers!
How much money
do
you have in those bags of yours exactly?”

“
Anyway,
here
we are!” said Matthias, ignoring him, and threw
his arms open theatrically to distract them. The others looked to
the scene in front of them with less enthusiasm. Cracked yellow
bricks paved the ground haphazardly in the small gap that
constituted the dock, sandwiched between two crumbling
houses.

“
And just
where
are we again?” asked Luccius.

“
Tanavern,” said Thadius. “Not the most pleasant of places to
arrive in, unfortunately.”

“
It’s a little run down,” replied Luccius, looking around the
way in front with saddened eyes.

“
Shh!” hissed Josephine. “The people will hear
you!” she said, as several of the townsfolk continued to stare at
them as they walked on. “May I suggest we make our way
through
town instead of
standing here in judgement of it?”

They
walked through the cramped little village, if it could even be
called a village, warily. The houses were in disrepair: the roof
tiles of many houses were cracked and missing in places, parts of
the stone - bricked walls crumbled into piles around their
foundations and doors were splintered and warped.

“
What
happened
to this place?” asked Josephine sadly as she
looked around, carefully sidestepping the cracks in the broken
cobbled pathway, where weeds popped up in clusters. “I
cannot
believe
that this is part of Aralia!”

“
This is a poor village, princess,” Thadius replied
quietly.

“
How
so?” she whispered, as they continued.

Thadius continued awkwardly. “Farmers and peasants have
suffered here of late with the enclosure laws that have been put in
place. The nobles in the countryside nearby do well out of the land
worked by these people, but the people who till the land struggle
to make ends meet out of what is left. Many people have left this
region in the last few years I believe.”

“
That is awful!” Josephine exclaimed. “Who put in place those
new laws?” she asked.

“
Ah,
it was your father, princess,” Thadius said awkwardly.

Josephine stopped a moment and looked up to
Thadius. Her eyes were saddened. “Of course,” she said after a
pause and her jaw tightened. “How silly of me.” She shook her head.
“Well, I think I shall have to look into this
more
upon my return. What was it you were
saying about life being a series of conflicting morals, Matthias?
How can
this
be fair when
I
live in such luxury?”

Matthias nodded. “This
would
be an example, Josephine, yes,” he said
flatly. “I’m sorry you had to learn it this way.”

She
shook her head. “Perhaps this is the only way to truly learn
humility, to experience its cause first - hand.”

“
There’s an inn up there,” Luccius pointed to a crumbling
building, which was subsiding into the ground.

“
It
might be best if we skip that inn,” Matthias said, listening
intently as they approached. He looked to one of the upstairs
windows, where the curtains were drawn. “I think the goings on in
there would likely scar Princess Josephine for life.”

Luccius’s ears twitched as he listened too, and then, eyes
wide, his cheeks blushed. “You may be right,” he
whispered.

Josephine looked at them both. “What do you-”

“
Come along
princess
,” Thadius said hurriedly and placed an arm around
her waist, directing her on swiftly.

“
Are you
sure
we don’t have time for a visit?” Luccius smiled as
they followed.

“
We already have our hands full with
you
for a companion.
I’d rather not take
syphilis
along for the ride as well,” Matthias said sarcastically.
“Now
come
on.”

They
passed the building and continued to walk through the town. The
locals that gathered outside the inn didn’t look particularly
friendly, especially to the group of well - dressed newcomers who
they eyed as they passed by.

“
I
must admit I had thought Captain Rilam was at least exaggerating a
little when he spoke about this place,” Matthias said under his
breath.

“
There’s little chance of acquiring horses here, I would
wager,” Luccius added. “Most of the villagers probably can’t even
afford one, and where they can they certainly aren’t about to go
selling them out to us.”

Matthias nodded. “We’ll have to continue to Gormal by foot
then, I’m afraid,” he said. “I-” They were stopped in their tracks
as four men appeared in front of them, gliding in from an alley to
their right. They were the same men who had been gathered around
the inn behind them moments before. Thadius stopped dead and
instantly slipped in front of Josephine and unsheathed his sword.
Matthias looked behind them. Two more men stood behind, blocking
their escape.

“
Nice
sword
,” one of the men said to Thadius: a large man, a
head taller than the knight and with beady eyes and a beard that
left his upper lip bare. His hair was ruffled and his blue
waistcoat torn and unravelling.

“
Yes it is,” Thadius said, his jaw clenched. “It
would be a shame if I would have to
use
it.”

A smaller man, wiry but with noticeably large
biceps beneath his cotton shirt, leaned forward. “I’d like to use
my
own
sword on your
woman
,” he smiled. “How’s about you let us have a
fiddle with her?”

Thadius started forward, his face burning with
rage. “How
dare
you talk about my charge that way! If you don’t shut
your
mouth
I’ll chop your ‘sword’ into tiny
pieces!
”

“
We
want no trouble,” Matthias said, stepping forward and holding up a
hand. “Why don’t you all step aside gentlemen and we will forget
this?”

“
Why
should
we?” One of the men behind them sneered, his face
red with spots. “You come into our town dressed in your fine
clothes,
strutting
around the place! And you expect to pay no
toll?”

“
There
is
no toll in this town!” Thadius barked. “I am a soldier of
Aralia and I will have you all hung for
theft
if you deny us passage and try to extort
money from us!”

“
A soldier of Aralia?” the burly man repeated.
“How’s about that boys? A soldier has come to pay us a visit from
the king!” They all began to laugh. “Looks like you’ve left your
battalion behind, soldier! A bad idea, coming to Tanavern on behalf
of the
bastard
of a king right now with no backup.”

“
His
highness
is none too popular around these parts,” another
man in front, with thin, grey hair brushed to one side and a scar
on his lip, added. “His laws have torn families apart
here.”

“
Matthias,” Luccius whispered. “Perhaps you
should
do
something.”

“
Not yet. I want to try to avoid a
scene
,” he whispered back.

“
Whilst I
respect
that, the
last
time you tried to avoid a scene I ended up soaking
wet in a
river!
” Luccius retorted.

“
If you’re here on behalf of the king,” the burly
man rumbled, “then
you
can pay us what is
owed
by him to us.”

Josephine stepped around Thadius. The knight
grabbed her and tried to pull her back, but she shrugged him off
and held up a hand to stop his advance. Then she turned back to the
men and drew herself up high. “You
are
correct, you are owed a
great
deal,” she said loudly and clearly. “You
have been dealt a great disservice here, and
I
will see that things change for
you
all
.
You have my word.”

“
And who are
you?
The king’s
whore?
” The wiry man snorted.

“
Josephine-” Matthias said, but it was too late. Her face had
fallen and she scowled at the man.

“
I am
Princess
Josephine Arwell, the
heir
to the Phoenix Throne! And
whatever
your situation,
your language is
not
acceptable!”

“
You’re the princess?” the burly man said, staring
the girl up and down. He chuckled. “Pull the
other
one. The princess would never
set
foot
here!”

“
Wait!” the grey-haired man said, and his eyes
narrowed. “I
recognise
her! I was in Rina several years ago when the princess was
visiting the sick. She’s a bit older, but it’s the same face!
I
know
it!”

“
Alright
,” Matthias said, shaking his head. “This
has
gone on long
enough. We don’t
want
trouble, but if you don’t move
right
now then you will be in a great
deal
of
it.”

“
The
pretty boy’s angry!” the wiry man sniffed. “What you going to do to
me, pretty boy?”

Matthias sighed. “You asked.” He raised a hand and the man
shot backwards, landing in the mud and sliding until he hit the
wall of a house some way away. The others followed his path, and
then turned back to the group in front of them.

“
What did you just
do?
” the burly man started.

“
I don’t want to have to hurt
anyone
else,” Matthias
said.

“
He’s a
wizard!
” the grey haired man hissed.

“
We hate
your
kind even more than the king!” said the large man,
his beady eyes narrowing and his jaw clenched. “
Freaks
, the
lot
of you! You think you can take us
all
on then, wizard?”
he retorted.

“
I’d
die trying,” Matthias responded with a smile.

As
they continued to banter with the men, Josephine concentrated and
tried to find her power. Perhaps she could help Matthias in some
way. She was nervous, and her heart was pounding, but she managed
to find the energy and pulled it into focus. As she did, she felt
compelled, as if by some instinct, to approach the large - set man
who blocked their way. She started forward to him and placed a hand
on his arm before the others could stop her. Thadius froze mid -
step, paralysed in shock at what she was doing.

“
This isn’t necessary,” she said to the man, and
she felt the power slide down her arm and caress the man’s skin.
She wasn’t sure
what
she was doing, but it felt…
right
somehow. “Please, tell your friends to
leave us be. I will see that you
are
compensated. But I cannot do that if you
start
killing
these men,” she indicated to her party.

The man’s expression changed as she spoke to him.
The frown softened and his eyes seemed to grow less hateful. He
swallowed. “I… I…” he fumbled, as he looked at her with a mixture
of confusion and intent. Then he nodded. He turned his head.
“
Lads
, let them
pass
.”

“
What?
” The wiry man hissed, standing up and dusting
himself down.

“
You
heard
me!” his friend barked. “Her word is
good!”

“
Like
hell
I will!” The man ran, blade in hand, towards
Matthias. The wizard raised his staff and then threw it down again
as if about to strike a hammer on an anvil. The man’s chest
crunched, and he fell, clutching himself and wailing. “My
ribs!
They’re
broke!
Demon!
”