章 56: Fateful Entry
"You saw a way in?" Nia asked as Belze threw himself on the soft bed. It was the softest bed that he has ever laid on and he was tired of sleeping on a shaky wagon.
"I'm just going to take a small nap. Wake me up when we sneak into the city, big sis."
"Alright. Sleep tight, Belze," Nia said but he was already snoring away.
Nia looked back at the silver merchant and wondered what he was planning. It was almost sunset outside.
"I can easily get you into King's City, but tell me, Nia. What is your plan?" the silver merchant asked.
"Plan? It's simple. I get in there, rescue Nera and the others, and get out," Nia replied, "I'll work out the details when I find out where they are being held. The dragonslayers have to hold them somewhere."
"Ahh. So, no plan," the silver merchant sighed, "But if they are dragonslayers, then you should be able to find them in the Den of... Dragonslayers. Couldn't have been more obvious. You can ask around for directions. Now, you know where they are. What's the next step of your master plan?"
Nia's tongue was tied. She had no real plan. The only thing she had on her mind was determination, which the silver merchant knew wouldn't be enough. Nonetheless, he admired that about the young dragon.
"I'll go in and rescue them. When I'm there, I'll figure something out."
"Going in there headstrong is a sure way to die."
"Then, I'll sneak in."
"Perhaps. If you do find them in cages, you can easily break them, but how do you plan to sneak out with a handful of villagers?"
Nia's mind was stuck. She didn't have any idea on what to do once she was actually there, but that wouldn't stop her.
"I'll figure it out," she said with confidence.
"I see. Well, I won't stop you, but what about the boy? Will you take him with you?" he asked worryingly.
Nia paused for a moment and looked at the sleeping child.
"You're not coming, are you?" she asked.
He shook his head. They both knew full well that bringing a fully armored man who refused to take off his armor would only attract attention.
"Then, I'll need you to promise me one more time. Promise that you'll keep Belze safe," Nia requested.
The silver merchant watched the child.
"You're going to leave him with me?" he asked.
"He's safer with you than me. I can't protect him like you can. His parents are in there and I have to get them out of there, as well. After that, life can go back to normal."
"Normal? Life won't go back to normal for you after any of this. You'll always be hunted, and while you're with them, they too will be hunted."
"But for Belze it will be."
The silver merchant shook his head thinking about what he should do. He knew he couldn't go in there with her, otherwise, they will be fighting against every single soldier there. He couldn't guarantee that he would control his powers against so many. He may end up hurting or killing innocent people, he thought. Not like the monsters or bandits that they fought before. Just regular people going about their daily lives. Regular people who didn't relish in harming others. Upon the silver merchant's thinking about what he should do, Nia began to sense a dragon nearby. She looked outside of the window, but there was nobody there.
The silver merchant looked back at Nia and stood up. As he did so, Belze sat up in a frown on his face. The young dragon was shocked to see that he wasn't asleep at all. He heard everything.
"I heard what you guys were saying. It's not fair, Nia, to put all the promises on him!" Belze said.
Nia exclaimed, "Belze..."
"So, promise me, big sis. Promise me that you'll come back with my parents. Promise me that you'll stay with us. With me. Promise me..." Belze said as tears began to flow down his cheek. Nia kneeled down to him and wiped away his tears.
"Of course. I promise. I promise to bring them all back home safely. And I promise to stay with everybody. When this is all over, I'll tell them how brave you were."
Belze sniffled and said, "As long as you're safe."
Nia gently rubbed his head and stood up. A full moon in clear view. Nightfall turned on the group and as it did, the horses outside neighed. Nia and the silver merchant both turned towards the noise.
"Something is coming. Can you feel the tremors. Hoofbeats," the silver merchant said. A crow cawed outside of the shack.
Nia began to unsheath her blade, but before she did, the silver merchant stopped her.
"Let me handle them. You have to go, now," he quickly said while raising up one arm near a wall.
The wall began to crack and splinter like broken glass. With one swift swing of his arm, the wall cut itself and opened up like a book. Reality curved around the cracks, and shards of the wall floated in the air. The shards glowed with white light. As Nia and Belze watched, they saw that what would usually be outside wasn't there. Instead, it looked to be a dark empty alleyway in the middle of King's City.
As they stared in awe, the silver merchant pushed Nia into the portal. She shrieked in surprise, and landed into the shadows. Before the silver merchant closed off the portal, Nia grabbed his arm and said, "You didn't promise me, yet."
If the silver merchant was able to smile, he would have. "I never stopped my last promise, and the silver merchant never breaks his promises."
Nia smiled and let go of his arm. Belze yelled, "Be careful, big sis!" while waving his arms good-bye.
She waved her hand as her body moved away into the shadows. Her pleasant smile carried a thankful aura. Grateful for meeting both of them.
The portal closed as she applied her hood over her head and walked away.
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