Jeremy Laszlo - The Choosing

It was not long and Felix rounded the corner from the hall, and spotting Seth and Sara he smiled broadly. He greeted them each from across the room by name, then without warning he spun on his heel and strode back down the hall. Seth and Sara looked at each other puzzled, and not finding any answers they then looked to Garret and Ashton.

“He already has your orders.” Garret said smiling.

“Does he now?” Sara asked returning Garret’s smile.

“Yes trust me. It will be a pleasant surprise.” Garret stated with certainty.

“Good enough for me.” Seth stated and Sara nodded her agreement.

The companions talked briefly about various subjects as they awaited Felix’s return. They did not wait long, and before they had expected it, Felix again rounded the corner carrying two steaming plates. He placed one in front of Seth and the other in front of Sara, and wishing them an enjoyable meal, he left again for the kitchen.

Seth and Sara eyed their plates hungrily. They admired the steaming piles of round bread dripping in syrup as a pair of hungry wolves might eye a fawn with a broken leg. As they began to attack their food Garret told them it was called pancakes, and not wanting to interrupt them further he sat back and waited less than three minutes until they finished. Thinking the sight amusing Garret decided to share his thoughts with his companions.

“Quite the appetite you two have this morning.” Garret stated. “Must have been an exhaustive night.” Garret added. His tone implying more than he said.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Sara replied, giving Garret a twisted grin.

Garret exploded into laughter, no longer able to contain himself. The others too laughed with him. None of them could believe Garret had the nerve to say such a thing, and none of them expected Sara’s response either. So they laughed loudly together at the circumstance. Each of them was thankful to have such close friends, as to be able to joke with one another without offending anyone.

When the laughs and subsequent giggles finally settled, they decided to hit the streets and see the sights. They rose from their table and each pushed their chair in. They left the room in pairs, passing once again through the familiar lobby and straight through the door leading them back outside to once again behold the expertly carved facade of The King’s Herald.

The four companions entered the street bustling with activity and Garret steered them north through the masses of people who now inhabited the streets. They traveled straight down the main, always heading north, always walking up hill. Even from the inn they could see that the street ended, some distance ahead, at a massive stone structure. Garret had told them they needed to walk twenty three blocks north towards Castle Valdadore, then skirt the castle wall, following it to the east and then north again six more blocks.

As they traveled up the road they watched the castle before them grow, as they had previously watched the city grow. The castle sat upon the top of the hill that the city was created upon, and from its vantage point it looked down upon the city surrounding it. It was a giant stone structure consisting of giant towers and walls. Behind the walls arose dozens of large spires with stone staircases spiraling around them all the way up to their pointed tips. Upon each spire’s pinnacle, flags blew lazily in a breeze that was not evident upon the streets below. Several of the spires were joined by arched breeze ways that hung perilously in the air, looking dangerously fragile from the street below. Upon the walls and twisted staircases and even upon the breeze ways small figures could be seen walking or rushing from one place to another. The stone of the castle walls was not painted as had been the wall surrounding the city. Instead each stone was polished to a shine revealing hidden flecks reflecting the sun in hues of gold, magenta, and silver. The small flakes of metal in the stone made the entire structure appear to shimmer and sparkle as the sun struck its surface. The castle was a breath taking sight to withhold, and as each of the four companions took their last steps from the street into the courtyard surrounding the massive castle, each of them held their breath while admiring the glorious creation that stood before them.

Directly across the courtyard from where they stood was a massive gate. To either side of the gate stood at least a half a dozen guards, each fully armored, and fully armed. Several stories above the road, through narrow slits in the wall, several dozen more armored men could be seen watching the street below them. From this perspective, using the armored guards on the ground as a reference, Seth estimated the wall to be approximately fourteen stories tall, the gate itself rose nearly eight of those stories. The towers and spires rose over a dozen stories beyond that of the wall. The towers were placed behind the wall at a regular interval, and all appeared to be equal in height. The spires on the other hand appeared to have been built irregularly, each of them raising into the air to different heights, and sometimes appearing to clump together in pairs and trios. A couple of the spires jutted out from the towers themselves and rose alongside the towers into the air. It was an amazing sight. Some of the stone structures appeared to be defying gravity itself as they spiraled off into the sky attached to the other structures by thin spidery walkways. The four stood staring at the castle before them in awe of its glory, the rest of the city forgotten to them for many minutes.

After the four companions finally absorbed as many details of the castle as was possible from this vantage point, they continued around the castle’s wall to the east. Counting the roads as they passed, they counted eleven roads before they came to the corner of the castle’s wall. Turning north once again they paralleled the castles eastern most wall and continued down the road six more blocks. Garret had been leading them, Ashton at his side when he came to an abrupt stop in the middle of the street nearly causing Seth and Sara to run them over. Garret turned this way and that, looking all around him in every direction. He looked around the square as far as he could see. He also looked down the road that they stood near, the sixth road they had counted since the corner.

“It should be right here.” Garret stated, still looking around.

“What should?” Seth asked his twin.

“The Knight’s training grounds.” Garret answered. “Sasha said it was almost six blocks down this side of the square.”

“What did she mean by almost?” Seth again questioned his brother putting emphasis on the word.

“I’m not sure, but I didn’t ask either, I assumed we would be able to see it easy enough.” Garret stated.

Seth turned around looking back the way they had come. He sized up the space between them and the previous road they had passed and looked all along the side of the square in between. None of the buildings along the square appeared to be near large enough to train knights in, and so Seth continued his search. Looking across the square to the castle wall Seth found what he was looking for. They had been so busy looking away from the castle wall, counting roads and such they had missed another gate in its wall. This gate had no guards around it fore it had no need of guarding at present. The portcullis had been lowered at this gate closing it to all traffic, but the castle within could be seen through the iron bars. Seth began to wander back towards the gate, holding firmly to Sara’s hand he pulled her along with him. Garret seeing his twin set off towards the castle, shrugged his shoulders to Ashton and the two followed to see what it was that Seth had noticed.