Realm of Monsters - Chapter 689: Murkton Part 1

Chapter 689: Murkton Part 1

  There was hardly a cloud in the night sky, revealing the almost full moon looming above. The moonlight bathed the river and the surrounding trees in an eerie gleam, dimming the atmosphere of the lone boat on the water.

  The ten adventurers had mostly fallen asleep, save for Gale, who was on watch and in charge of guiding the ship. Usually, two people were needed to man the oars as the boat shifted from one stream into another, but Gale managed with ease, channeling a bit of blue mana into the water to guide the ship.

  Besides the vampiress, only Stryg remained awake. He hadn’t slept all night. He sat with his knees drawn to his chest, huddled next to Tauri, her head resting on his shoulder. The moonlight made his pale white hair glow with a silvery sheen. Gale thought to mention it, but her lordling seemed out of sorts, and thought better of it, leaving him to his own thoughts.

  After Stryg had awoken from the book of memories, Tauri had held him as he cried. Gale had never seen him cry so profoundly. She had only seen such a look in the mirror the day she had received the news of her brother.

  What had Stryg seen in that cursed book? She had asked him, as had Tauri. He answered neither of them. In fact, he hadn’t uttered a word the entire evening and well into the night.

  The darkness was beginning to give way to the first light of the day. Faint hues of orange were dappling the midnight blue sky. Beatrix shifted awake and sat up, “We’re almost here.”

  “You can tell?” Gale asked.

  “I drew you the map to get here, didn’t I?”

  “This all looks the same to me, just trees and rivers,” Gale shrugged.

  “There are few trees on the other routes. I chose this one because it gives you cover from prying eyes. Few people like to travel this way.”

  Gale narrowed her crimson eyes. “Why?”

  “Because bandits sometimes like to hide in the trees to ambush unsuspecting merchants.”

  “And you didn’t think to tell us that before now?”

  “Every single person on this ship is a gifted mageborn, some of us are even more than that. I don’t think even an archmage could stop us, let alone a couple of bandits, especially with those two onboard,” Beatrix gestured with her eyes to Stryg and Belle.

  “Even so, you should have said something. You do not get to put my Ward in danger simply because you do not fear the consequences.”

  “Apologies.” Beatrix dipped her head.

  “What’s going on?” Nora stifled a yawn.

  “We are almost at the city,” Beatrix replied.

  “I’ll start waking up the ‘crew,’ yeah?” Nora asked.

  Gale gave a nod.

  Nora shuffled around the small boat, gently shaking everyone awake, save for Belle, who had already woken up at the first signs of conversation. Her scarlet hair seemed to be almost pitch black in the night, seemingly opposite to Stryg’s hair, a fact that did not slip by Gale’s notice.

  Tauri lifted her head and rubbed her eyes as Nora made the rounds. Sitting up, she blinked at her surroundings. Still half-asleep, she grabbed Stryg’s arms. “Are you okay?”

  He turned and looked at her with sudden warmth. “I’m fine,” he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. Satisfied, she settled her head back into the crook of his shoulder.

  As the boat turned on the river bend, a massive city came into sight in the distance. It dwarfed Hollow Shade, easily twice the size. Where the Shade Walls were tall, imposing structures of glass-like magestone dyed black from magic, the walls of Murkton were ancient and carved from grey stone with a faint blue hue.

  The Murkton walls were worn from age and in many places, cracks showed. And though the walls were only half as tall as the mighty Hollow Shade’s, even from here Stryg could make out the countless arcane sigils etched into the stone. The years of pained craftsmanship it must have taken to enchant the entire wall, Stryg could not begin to guess.

  Beyond the walls, the city lay sprawled over the horizon, the majority of its buildings made from the same blue-tinged stone.

  “That’s Murkton?” Kegrog asked, leaning forward on the boat, trying to get a better look.

  “That’s Lunis,” Stryg whispered to himself. He had only seen the city once before from Stryga’s eyes; it was the night it all burned down. Or so he thought. Most of the buildings seemed to still be intact. Though its people perished in the flames, stone did not burn so easily, he supposed.

  “It’s beautiful,” Kithina said.

  “You haven’t seen anything yet,” Beatrix smiled with pride.

  As they drew closer, the sun began to crest over the east, bathing the city in sunlight. The blue-tinged stone caught and refracted the sunlight, setting the walls and buildings in a dazzling expanse of blue.

  “Oh my gods,” Kithina mumbled in awe.

  “We call it the Azure Sunrise,” Beatrix said.

  Tauri cracked a small grin. “I forgot how beautiful this place was.”

  Beatrix’s proud smile only widened. “You should try and visit our homeland more often, cousin. We pride ourselves in Murkton’s beauty; Hollow Shade’s cannot compare.”

  “Its name is Lunis, the Sapphire of the East, and it is not your homeland. It never was,” Stryg said bitterly.

  Batrix’s smile faltered, but she did not push the topic, having no desire to stir the godling’s sullen mood.

  The rest of the morning was left mostly in silence, with only the whispers being passed among the group. Like Beatrix, none of them were keen on having Stryg lose himself in anger and accidentally destroy. Save Belle, who seemed immune to social cues, and kept badgering Beatrix for more details of the city like an excited child.

  The closer they came to the city, the more streams merged into a main river that ran underneath a tunnel built into Murkton’s wall. Dozens of small ships were sailing besides their own boat. Gale ordered them all to raise the hoods of their enchanted cloaks and try their best to stay inconspicuous.

  “There shouldn’t be so many ships,” Beatrix noted. “Not at this hour.”

  “Really? I thought there’d be even more,” Belle said.

  “This is merely a side entrance into the city. There is a massive gate on the other side of the city for larger ships and the like,” Beatrix explained. “Something must be going on for all these ships to be here.”

  “They’re fleeing outer marshlands,” Freya guessed. “If what the dockmaster at the port town said was true, then the Sylvan fleet is sailing through these lands. And I doubt they are the kind of army to leave the orc-filled towns around here alone.”

  “Like the town we visited,” Beatrix stared pointedly at Freya.

  The blonde dwarf raised her hands in surrender. “It wasn’t my idea to burn those docks. If you want to blame someone, go talk to our resident Veres.”

  Beatrix glanced at Stryg, still sitting at the back of the boat, eyes steely, gaze focused on the floor. She’d prefer if his gaze stayed focused on anywhere but her.

  A pair of guards stood on a small, built-in stone platform next to the tunnel leading underneath the wall and into the city. Enchanted sigils crafted into the platform slowed the group’s boat to a halt as their turn came.

  “I’ll handle this. Keep your hoods up. The last thing we want is to draw attention,” Beatrix told the others before leaping off the boat and landing on the stone platform.

  The guards regarded Beatrix with a suspicious stare. “Reason for entrance?” asked the male guard.

  “Trade,” Beatrix replied.

  “Mercantile papers.” The female guard opened her hand expectantly.

  “Right.” Beatrix rummaged in her waist pouch for a set of papers she had pilfered back at the port town docks.

  “What exactly are you transporting?” The male guard frowned at the sorely lacking amount of barrels and crates on their ship, and the odd surplus amount of cloaked passengers.

  “Not much cargo, obviously,” Beatrix gave a small laugh and tried her best disarming smile.

  He wasn’t buying it. “Why don’t you tell your friends to remove their hoods and stand back. I’m going to expect your ship.” Hefting his spear, he ignored Beatrix’s protests and made his way towards the boat.

  Gale reached for her sword underneath her cloak. Belle beamed in excitement, happy for another crack at battle. Kegrog and Kithina shared a worried look. Callum fiddled in his pocket for an alchemical vial that would act as a smokescreen when in contact with water. Freya reached for Oginum, lying under a blanket. Tauri and Nora began to channel their magic. Stryg didn’t seem to care.

  “We are sailors from Urdenleng. We have come seeking only fine drink and cold food,” Beatrix blurted, her eyes darting back and forth between the ship and the guards.

  The female guard stiffened at her words and pulled her comrade back. He frowned, “Hey, what are you—?”

  “They’re from Urdenleng.” The female guard hissed. “They seek only fine wine and cold food.”

  The guard furrowed his brow for a moment before his face went pale and he scrambled to a salute. “W-Welcome to Murkton. We are honored to have you. Please enjoy your stay.”

  His comrade slapped his shoulder, “Don’t draw attention.”

  “R-Right.” He relaxed his stiff stance, cleared his throat, and nodded. “Ahem. Yes, of course. Your documents seem to be in order. Please, move along, travelers.”

  “We appreciate your discretion,” Beatrix nodded and hopped back on her boat. “Let’s go.”

  Kegrog nodded, and he and Sylvie took up the oars, rowing the boat onward into the tunnel beneath the wall. The tunnel was dark save for the light at the end, but Stryg could make out hundreds of dangerous sigils etched into the stone above and around them. This tunnel was meant to explode and collapse in case of enemy attack.

  Once they were well past the guards’ earshot, Freya spoke up. “What was all that about?”

  “What exactly did you say to them?” Callum asked.

  Beatrix shrugged, “A code only spoken by elite covert mages who are conducting secretive missions for the Warlord of Murkton.”

  “So assassinations,” Callum guessed.

  “Sometimes. Guards are trained to recognize the code and look the other way,” Beatrix said.

  “So they thought we were all some secret, super dangerous assassins, and just let us go?” Kegrog asked.

  “Something to that effect,” Beatrix said.

  “What was the code again?” Kegrog asked.

  “Kegrog,” Freya said.

  “What? I’m just asking,” he shrugged abashedly.

  “And how did you know the code, Beatrix?” Callum pressed.

  “My father is the Warlord of Murkton. He’s sent me on my fair share of missions in the past.”

  “Have you assassinated people?” Kithina gulped.

  Beatrix shuffled in her spot and looked away.

  “Best not to ask, Kitty,” Nora gave a subtle shake of her head.

  “I’m just glad we got past them with no trouble.” Gale stretched her limbs and settled into her spot. “I thought we were about to have to fight our way out of here.”

  “I know, right!” Belle practically jumped in her seat.

  “I don’t think that’s something you should be excited about,” Tauri said dryly.

  As their boat crossed the light at the end of the tunnel, Beatrix stood to her feet, arms wide open. “Welcome to the Great City of Murkton.”