Prologue:- Chapter 1: Indignation

VENA

The afternoon sun bore down heavily on the central part of the kingdom today, it's rays beating down on my skin relentlessly. I couldn't resist breathing a sigh of relief as me and Seytham walked through Talisia's entrance and past it's watchmen without issue. I stopped and stood a few feet from the gates, admiring the neatly laid roads and sturdy and colorful marble homes and buildings found nowhere in the kingdom but the capital. The skyline of Talisia mesmerized me every time I entered it's walls, especially it's most striking feature, the pointy and grey fortress in the west of the city that I assumed was the royal palace, what with it being the tallest structure in the city and the dozens of waving purple banners showcasing King Fe-ral's face upon it's numerous spires. Even though it was home to the oppression of everyone in the country, it's twisted beauty could never be denied.

Seytham lightly nudged my shoulder, breaking me out of my gawking before silently jabbing a finger over his own shoulder, prompting us to make our way to the market. The bustling of the city's bazaar always unsettled me the few times I had to go through it. The busy streets of the capital were a far cry from the usual cozy and home-like villages we used as bases in the rural and cooler south of the kingdom, but not in any comforting way. We cleared our way through the murmuring crowd of patrons, occasionally glancing towards haggling merchants, soldiers dressed head to toe in the kingdom's trademark burly and jagged armor, rich looking foreigners, the rare sight of two green and blue skinned Sarks and beggars. The arched and expansive walls that surrounded the city acted like a sick symbol of the king's control. I silently groaned as we squeezed past the masses, being grateful for Seytham's large stature making him easy to spot through the crowd, otherwise I would've lost sight of him by now.

With a familiarity that showed he'd done this a

thousand times before, which he probably had as Sik said Seytham knew the streets of Talisia better than anyone back at base, he lead the way to a smaller and more unkempt district of the city. We walked through the gazes of a few soldiers through alleyways and the fronts of taverns, they seemed to only acknowledge us for a moment before returning back to their drinking or patrols. Seytham's hulking figure provided some security to me while we strolled to the front of a cottage, my hands hovering over the blessed weapon I got before we left base, a whip that was rolled up and hung on my waist under my cloak. 

The cottage was awkwardly sandwiched between a tavern and what felt like a blacksmith's forge judging from the heat, while children were playing along the horizontally stretching street and business owners could be seen peddling and propping up their wares. Seytham turned back to me and spoke in his usual stoic and deep voice "The old man should be inside. Hopefully he isn't dead, Marla said she hasn't heard from him in months." He stated as he eyed the neighboring tavern, most likely unnerved by the number of soldiers walking in and out of it. 

I shook my head and scoffed at the idea of "the veteran" Tethus being dead. From what I'd heard about him, he'd practically started the movement against the monarchy 10 years ago. I'd joined up with the insurgency 5 years ago and only seen him myself twice, once at the Protest at Sekil, and the other 2 years ago when he'd said his goodbyes to Marla. "Can't be, Marla wouldn't send us here for nothing. But just in case be ready to leave quick, wouldn't wanna cross Fe-ral's lapdog anytime soon." Seytham nodded and I caught a glimpse of the nervousness in his eyes as I reminded him of that monster the King called a bodyguard. 

He turned back to face the door before knocking thrice in quick succession. We stood there nervously in front of the cozy home in the middle of the street. I silently prayed for all of the passing King's guard to be too inebriated or busy to take notice of us. After a couple of painful minutes that felt more like hours, we heard a click from inside as the door opened up. Clutching the door frame and dressed in a withered maroon coat stood the old man in question. Tethus hadn't seemed to have aged in those 2 years since he'd left the resistance, his amber brown eyes showing glimpses of pain, patience and most of all, weariness. His nose seemed to twitch from the fluff of his grey mustache and the glow from his bare head made me want to close my eyes from the reflected shine of the sun. 

He cleared his throat with a cough that sounded older than me before speaking in a gruff voice "Hello? Can I help you two?"eyeing us with a furrowed brows and clear suspicion. He raised his voice enough to draw attention from passersby, most likely to deter us from trying anything. Marla did mention he was a paranoid. With a quick and fake smile, I cleared my throat before addressing him in my 'innocent civilian' tone. "Good evening sir! Are you Dr Tethus? We're here for the medicine for Dr. Hissan."he raised his eyebrows, a clear look of disbelief in his eyes before quickly returning to his prior stone cold stare. He slowly closed the half open door as the turning of a key and numerous locks could be heard from inside, before fully opening for us. I exchanged a quick glance with Seytham before nodding and entering in behind him.