Capítulo 11: Servitude
Kaleb walked through the center of the bazaar with Ameri by his side, escorted by the double bordered guard from the gate. The guards apparently felt that only one of them was necessary to handle Kaleb and Ameri, especially since they were both still tied to the Dune Trap. The bustling crowd of the bazaar cleared a path for them to walk through without much effort, even with a 30 meter armored worm dragging behind them.
Kaleb assumed this deference was thanks to the guard walking slightly behind him and off to the side, to avoid the ropes. The venders in their covered stalls and tents hawked their wares to every one that would listen. They sold everything that one could imagine, weapons, armor, trinkets and in one stall, a rotund orc with a large beard, was exclusively selling crystal looking orb of various colors. Kaleb assumed that these were the cores that he had heard so much about.
Kaleb wished to spend more time in the market looking around but he knew he should be focused on his dire situation.
'When I said to only wake me for a matter of life and death, I thought I would at least get to sleep first.' Rackshar complained, agitation showing in his voice.
'This wasn't exactly how I wanted this to play out.' Kaleb said blandly. 'Is there a way they can tell that you are in my head?'
Rackshar paused for a moment, 'There are people who can tell but there shouldn't be anyone in this puny town with the ability to do so. What we should be more worried about is your dragon blood. They will definitely have ways to sense a dragon born in this town.'
'So should I run for it?' Kaleb asked glancing over at a stall to give him a better view of the guard.
'It's too late for that. You have no chance of escaping from that guard. We still have a chance though. You have so little dragon blood in you that it even took me time to find it, and I'm connected to you! We just have to hope that the rest of your story holds up.' As Rackshar said this they broke through the crowd and stood in front of the temple.
The wide double doors loomed over them, the steps leading up to them giving a sense of ascension. The doors were made of the same blue-black material as the rest of the building and had the eye insignia, that the guards wore, carved across both doors. The giant Kaleb had seen earlier would have had no problem walking through the doors as they were more than 5 meters high with an arch at the top.
Kaleb had to crane his head to see the tower soaring above them. It still struck him that there were no windows on the building, especially one with a tower, as they were made for the purpose of improving peoples view. But his thoughts on the matter were short lived as the guard took the lead and they went up the stairs. He pushed the slab like doors open as if they were weightless.
There was no doorknobs or latches securing the doors. It seemed that they were meant to stay shut by their weight alone. They proceeded though the doors into a large hall. The ceiling was 10 meters high, with 4 chandeliers hanging from it. The light of the chandeliers came from yellow stones inlaid into them, illuminating the room better than any lightbulb Kaleb had seen. The hall itself was bare, it had no rugs, paintings or furniture of any kind. The only thing breaking up the odd marble stone that every thing was made of were several doors leading out of the hall at various places. None of these doors were near the size or grandeur of the entrance, but each one had an eye carved into it from end to end.
They dragged their Dune Worm into the hall with them, which Kaleb thought was odd but seeing as neither Ameri nor the guard mentioned it he didn't bring it up.
"Wait here while I get the Inquisitor." The guard said, sealing the entrance behind them and going through one of the many doors out of the hall.
Kaleb briefly pondered leaving while they were unguarded, but he quickly dismissed the idea. The huge stone doors of the entrance seemed beyond his ability to open. He also doubted they would just leave them alone, unless they were confident that Kaleb would be unable to escape. The best he could do now was hope he could talk his way out of this mess.
"I'm sorry Kaleb. I didn't really think about how you didn't have a status token." Ameri said looking sadly at the ground.
Kaleb sighed. Ameri may have been intelligent, but he was still 14 and was prone to making mistakes. Kaleb couldn't find it in himself to blame him, after all Ameri had helped him immensely since he had gotten to this world. Also, this mistake wasn't made maliciously, Ameri did want to help Kaleb. He just got ahead of himself sometimes and forgot the details in-between.
"Don't worry, I don't blame you." Kaleb said. He had always hated when people said 'It's not your fault' when it was, in fact, their fault. "There's no use regretting a mistake that's already made. We just need to focus on fixing it now."
Ameri cheered up visibly at Kaleb's words, "Well, it is the church, I'm sure that they will understand once we explain it to them." He said, happy that Kaleb wasn't mad at him.
Kaleb gave him a quick smile. He liked kids and Stephine and him planned to have two, eventually. Stephanie had always told him he would make a great father, despite his own misgivings. Interacting with Ameri gave him confidence that he could handle fatherhood and he enjoyed the young man's company.
The door the guard had left through suddenly reopened, interrupting Kaleb's reflecting. The guard that had brought them to the temple entered first. He was followed by another robed figure but that is where the similarities stopped. First off, her robe was a rich metallic white color, and her eye insignia was embroidered in gold, with 4 boarders on it. The reason that Kaleb could tell it was a woman was that her robe, unlike the guards Kaleb had seen, had no hood.
Her face was full, giving her a kind look and if Kaleb had to guess, he would say she was in her mid-forties. Her skin was a rich black, giving a beautiful contrast to her robe. Her dark hair was woven through golden rings, cascading down her back. She was currently wearing a smile but her icy blue eyes showed a firmness that didn't contradict the smile as much as make it known that it was not a weakness. Her whole aura could be described as motherly, with equal parts of soft and firm. In other words, someone who was not to be trifled with. Ameri bowed his head as she entered the room.
"Hello Ameri," she said in a friendly manner. "I'm sorry for all this inconvenience. Especially when you have finally succeeded in killing a magical beast. But you know we have to take run away serfs seriously."
Kaleb found it odd that the guards and now even the Inquisitor seemed to know Ameri personally. It seemed to make no sense, given that he was only a Worthy because of his parents and this was his first magical beast he had killed. His reputation shouldn't be very good in a society founded on strength.
The Inquisitor then turned to Kaleb. "Normally, we either return run away serfs to their bound town or kill them. But, I have heard the situation. I must say it is a rare one. Not knowing if you are a Worthy, because of losing your memory, and still being able to survive out in the wilderness is unheard of."
She said it with surprise and concern for him in her voice, but Kaleb got the underlining message. She didn't believe him.
'She puts on a great show.' Kaleb thought.
"Honestly I probably wouldn't have, if it wasn't for Ameri saving my life." He said, preforming the same head bow that he saw Ameri preform. "I awoke out in the desert in a rough condition and, shortly after, was chased by this Dune Trap." He motioned to the Dune Trap behind them. "Ameri is the one who killed it and treated my wounds, which saved my life."
"So, it's not a stretch to say that you owe Ameri your life?" She said, her eyes and voice becoming much more direct.
'What is she going for?' Kaleb thought trying to read her intentions.
"That is correct. I am only alive right now thanks to Ameri." He said feeling that the flow of the conversation was moving away from his death or imprisonment, so he decided to go along with it.
She smiled at his answer and turned to Ameri. "Ameri are you willing to vouch for this man and take responsibility for him?"
"Yes! I mean, without him I never would have been able to kill the Dune Trap, and we make a great team!" Ameri almost exploded when he was given the opportunity to talk.
Her smile turned to affection at the young mans excited outburst.
"Very well. We have often worried for your welfare since you turned down our offer. This is an opportunity for us to help you toward your goals. If you trust this man, and he can help you kill magical creatures, then there is a simple solution that can benefit everyone."
"We cannot make you a Worthy, with no proof that you were one before." She said addressing Kaleb again. "What we can do, since you lost your memory, is make you a serf of this town. The job you will be bound to is Ameri's servant. This way Ameri can help you adjust to life without your memories, and you can aid him in his goals. But, only if this is what you want Ameri."
"Yes! Thank you! And with the two of us it won't take long before Kaleb is Worthy too! Then we can travel together and become a famous adventuring team!" Ameri actually jumped slightly in his excitement.
"There is one last thing before you get too excited." The Inquisitor said, holding up her hand to end Ameri's excited planning. "This process, unfortunately, is not free. There is a cost to turning what may be a runaway serf into your personal servant."
"What is it? Whatever it is I'll pay it!" Ameri responded without losing any of his previous enthusiasm.
Kaleb felt touched seeing that Ameri didn't hesitate to pay for his freedom. But, at the same time he felt that the Inquisitor had been planning this cost since the beginning. He doubted that Ameri was holding on to any treasure, so he quickly guessed that the duo only had one thing of value.
"Well, the cost of becoming a Worthy is equal to 4 cores with a grade of 2. While we aren't making him a Worthy, you are buying a serf's services. So, the price is one grade 2 core." She explained in a kind voice, as if she were doing them a favor. While Kaleb might have bought it at the beginning, he felt that this was all a scam to get their Dune Trap's core. After all, how would the conversation have gone if they didn't have the Dune Trap? Ameri, apparently, had yet to catch on though.
"That's perfect! Our Dune Trap has a grade 2 earth core in it!"Ameri said, not suspecting this religious leader at all.
"Then it's settled." The Inquisitor said motioning to the guard. He pulled out a knife, went over to the Dune Trap and began the extraction.
The Inquisitor came up to Ameri and Kaleb and placed a hand on each of their shoulders. Kaleb had to brace his knees to keep from falling over as he felt the strength behind that hand.
"I will pray for your victories." She said, in a rote voice as if it was the standard blessing for the church. She did this blessing while looking Kaleb directly in the eye and he felt a pressure sweep through him and a chill go down his spine.
Status de energia semanal
-- Ranking de
Poder 
-- Pedra de
Poder