Chapter 11: 8. Aspect of Deception, Kallad Raven (Part 4)

“Wow. You two are a mess.” Bort looked at Rai and Sindyl, noticing the dried sweat on their faces and the torrid state of their clothes and hair. “I’ll have Dorothy set ye up some baths then. Seems like ye could both use some... sanitisation.”

Rai cocked his head while looking at Bort, “What does that mean?” he asked.

Sin giggled to herself, “You don’t know what sanitisation means? You really are a farm boy.”

Bort answered quickly so he could get the smelly kids cleaned up before rush hour, “it’s just a fancy word for cleaning, boy. Don’t think much of it, I was only trying to sound uppity for the princess here.” Bort teased the red haired girl.

She pouted, which got a laugh out of Rai, prompting her to pout even more. “At least my belly isn’t the size of the rest of my body.” Bort guffawed, prompting a laughing fit between the three of them. After a few minutes, Dorothy called, letting Rai and Sin know that the baths were ready. They went to clean themselves in the separate bathing areas.

After Rai and Sin left, Jin and Kallad sat at an empty table. Jin noticed that the inn was livelier now than it was in the morning. But it was only late in the afternoon, and there were many seats yet to be filled. Bort sent a waitress to leave a pair of mugs on their table, full to the brim with the finest Townsend craft brew.

Kallad spoke like a friend from an older era, “It’s great to see your old mug again Jin.”

Jin sounded somewhat upset, “I’m really not that old, I don’t know why everyone keeps calling me that.”

Kallad slapped his knee, “HAHA! You’re as old as they come my friend.”

Jin took a sip of his brew before asking, “How’d you get past Narthir by the way? Just thought I’d ask since he hates Aspects.”

“That old gatekeeper? Well, actually... I’m only telling you this because I believe you need to know. The Underworld has physical links to Udra. It’s deep underneath the mountain, and there are pathways directly into this town. We can make pathways that take us wherever we want across the whole mountain.” He nonchalantly took a sip of his brew. Kallad then muttered to himself, "Whew, this is really good!"

Jin was clearly surprised at the bombshell that just hit him. No one knew about where the Underworld was, nor even how to get there without the magic of the demons. He let the information set for a moment before speaking again. “You know I’m good at keeping secrets.” He smiled.

The air about him seemed to change, and Jin took a hefty gulp of his drink. He moved on to the question that was festering in his mind since he heard Kallad was coming through Acies. “Why are you here, Kallad.” It was a question, but phrased as a statement.

Kallad’s tone followed suit. His light-hearted nature washed away, and he seemed to look through Jin’s wolf-like ambers with his blood-red rubies.

Kallad waited a moment, then spoke in a low tone, “You gathered that the council is to meet?”

Jin nodded.

“Then you should know that this is an unofficial meeting. The Arbiter is directly leading this one.”

Jin continued to look into Kallad’s eyes, unflinching.

Kallad sighed, “It involves the will of the Creator.”

Jin’s eyes were widening in surprise. He reached for his mug after hearing Kallad's words, but elected not to take another sip. “The Creator? Last I heard, they were completely hands-off from the world after the Elder Wars. Why now?”

Kallad shook his head. “I’ve had my suspicions of the Arbiter for some time now, his clan of supposed Justice were the ones that set the execution order on you. It seems he wants to root out the Life clan, and take what’s theirs for his own. He’d happily use his position as ‘Voice of the Creator’ to justify it.”

Jin craned his hands together, resting his chin on them. He was in thought for a moment, granting Kallad a few seconds to take a sip of his drink. “If the Arbiter wants the Life clan, it’ll take at least a decade. He’d have to start laying the seeds now, with this meeting.”

Kallad nodded. “That’s what I’m suspecting...” He sighed, “Will you fight?”

Jin shook his head, “I cannot. I will not.” He would not lose any more of his comrades, his family. “I’ll defend my family if they come to harm, but I won’t fight this war. I don’t care about the clan; they mean nothing to me.”

Kallad looked at Jin’s wolf eyes. They were resolute in their will. “You’re powerful enough to kill him, you know that right?”

Jin replied softly, “That may be true... But I’ll only use my sword for my own ends. Not for anyone else’s.”

Kallad knew he couldn’t convince him. Jin lost everything that tied him to the Life clan, and only now he finally has something worth fighting for.

Jin raised another concern he had, “What about the Warden? Does he know how this is all playing out?”

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Kallad waved away Jin's question, as if swatting a fly, “He’s weak. The title of Warden doesn’t afford one any power, like the rest of the Aspect titles. He’s aware of what the Arbiter wants, but he has none of the combat power to contest it. If it was the previous Warden-”

Jin interrupted him, “He’s gone. I learned that personally.”

Kallad look at Jin with wide eyes, “... I see, then the fate of the Life clan is sealed.”

Jin watched as Rai came out of the private bathing area, all cleaned up and dressed, “Not quite. Though, it depends on him.” Rai looked around the room as if he was looking for something. He then laid his eyes upon Jin and Kallad, and smiled, then started walking over to them.

Kallad didn’t know what to think, “He’s strong, but he’ll need far more than his current potential if he’s going to save his clan.”

Jin leaned back in his chair, “He’ll get there, it’ll take time, but I have faith in him. Besides, in the end it depends on his own desires. If he wants to fight for the clan, or revenge, or for any other reason, then he can, but if he doesn’t then I won’t try to force him.”

Kallad laid respectful eyes on Jin, “Once again, I truly have no idea what to think of you, Sword Dancer.”

“You can stop calling me that, I’m just Jin now.”

Rai came to the table the two were sat at, and sat next to Jin. “The private bathing area is so much nicer than the one in our rooms upstairs!” The boy seemed much more like a boy now. Thoughts of him being a saviour almost completely washed away from Kallad's mind once Rai spoke about something so simple as a bathing room with glee.

Jin turned to Rai, “We can make a nice bathing area at the farm if you want, it wouldn’t be that difficult.” He stated matter of factly.

Rai’s electric eyes seemed to sparkle, “REALLY?! Can we? I’ll help! I just know mum will like it too.”

With a smile, Jin nodded, “Of course, we’ll get started on it later this month then.”

Sin came out of the private bathing areas, fully cleaned and dressed. She mimicked Rai’s actions after leaving, searching for her father. She came and sat down at the table to hear something about making a bath. “The bathing quarter of our house is bigger than this whole inn.” She spoke like a spoilt princess, showing off her possessions.

Kallad scowled at his daughter, “Sin, we should be humble about how we live. Everyone’s life is their own, and their circumstances are unique to them.”

Jin took on the role of ‘fun uncle’, “Let her show off a bit, she’s clearly just proud of her home.”

Rai turned to Sindyl, “You should see the farm Sin! It’s huuuuge and has lots of fields around it. The house is pretty big too!”

I’ve never been to a farm. Sin blushed, then shrank in her chair a little, “M-m-maybe one d-day.”

As the night went on, the inn became livelier. Hunters who finished their daily expeditions came to the inn to wind down and talk about their hunts of the day. Some even just finished their week long expeditions. Rai and Sin listened attentively to the stories told by the hunters and travellers who came to Townsend. Jin and Kallad drank away their worries about the looming end of the world. Families from the outskirts of the town came to the inn for their nightly entertainment and bonding time.

The night went on, with everyone’s jovial spirits creating an atmosphere that Rai enjoyed.

He truly loved this kind of thing, and hoped that it could last forever.

Unfortunately, he wasn't destined for a life of bliss.

Within the twin suns in the sky, a set of eyes opened. One eye in each sun. They stared in the direction of Acies.

Rai thought he heard echoes of someone above him laughing, but after a while he decided that it must've just been someone in the group he was sitting with.

There were whispers, but he couldn't hear them.

The eyes shut after the voice couldn't reach him.

It, whatever it was, would have to wait until he was ready.

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