The Road Ahead (3)

In front of the caravan of City Guards walked a Kael'Talar in shackles. Thick chains and a big padlock covered his feet and arms. He wore his beautiful black suit, white shirt, purple tie, and leather shoes. His clothes were impeccable, just like before, and his face was even more. He had a smirk stamped all over it, from ear to ear. Kael'Talar walked proudly with his back as hard as a mountain.

The same could not be said for his companion, besides the Kael'Talar, the lean elf Alex had beaten with the bag of coin half walked, half crawled with his Achille's tendon cut. The guards were merciless and kept shoving him to walk. With every step, the man moaned with pain, but that didn't seem to affect anyone. Alex felt no pleasure seeing the elf in distress, but he couldn't feel pity for him either. Three hundred coins had been enough for the elf to decide Alex could die so he would not shed a tear for the man. In all his accounts, both individuals deserved what they would get.

Close behind the criminals, Alex saw Captain La'har walking with her back as straight as the mafia boss'. Beside her marched a big, sizeable dark elf. His military haircut and tired and proud expression made Alex assume it was the major from the previous night. That and all the insignias he carried in his pristine blue uniform.

People on the streets erupted into an uproar at the sight of the march. Some cried out loud, others cheered for the guards, but most seemed to be in shock with the situation. Only now, Alex understood that the chimeras were an absolute powerhouse in the city. The people's reaction suggested it.

Kael'Talar looked in Alex's direction and halted. He locked gazes with the young man, and his smile widened slightly as if they shared a secret. And if Kael'Talar were smart enough or asked the right questions to the right people, he would eventually discover they shared a terrible secret. I hope this is a French Revolution kinda of trial. Off with his head, He thought while not deviating from the man's glare.

Kael'Talar broke the gaze as the major shoved him to walk, and now Alex could see La'har facing him. His two enemies together, and both now probably hate him. Let them hate while I'm free. He mused just to see the guards' eyes switching to Ratamir.

The dwarf was walking furiously towards Kael'Talar, Tal'Dore walking with a grave expression, and a Ravi who seemed to appear from nowhere on the other side. The three walking together, side by side, gave the scene a powerful aura. It was like Alex could see three historical heroes from Earth joining forces.

The mafia boss's face was now a grim of pain. His smile became only a memory, and, in its place, a mask of embarrassment appeared. Alex remembered the headline the major had proposed to La'Har the night before, "Kael'Talar, heroe turned Criminal, finally arrested— thanks to the efforts of Major Fahr and Captain La'har!"...

Ratamir got close enough to the group, and the major, surprisingly, bowed to the dwarf, showing the short man immense deference. Alex couldn't hear what the major was saying, but he clearly praised Ratamir and nodded affirmatively to the dwarf. Fahr got up and downed Kael'Talar to his knees to face Ratamir in one movement. The major walked three steps back, and La'har followed him.

Everyone was now muttering on the sidewalks. Alex could distinguish some sentences between the onlookers, "Is that Ratamir?", "That Ratamir?", "The whole Adventure Guild here in the middle of the street? What a day!", "Ratamir, the Red Mace will kill Kael'Talar? Impossible!" were some of the things Alex heard amid the crowd.

When Ratamir addressed the mafia boss, his words were inaudible. Still, the tone of the speech could be understood by anyone close enough. Kael'Talar looked at the ground the whole time,

"What Rand'Allar would think of it?!" Ratamir screamed at the top of his lungs, making the whole street silent. Kael'Talar slowly looked up and spat on the ground.

Then, Ratamir slapped the elf's face, dropping him hard to the ground. Then the laugh started.

Like a maniac, Kael'Talar couldn't control himself. At first, it was a chuckle, but two seconds later, it was already the laughter of a crazy clown. The man stood there, half of his face on the ground and his eyes darting towards Ratamir while laughing until he had no more air. Tal'Dore got down on one knee and put one hand on Ratamir's shoulder, who removed it gently and turned his back to the fallen mafia boss.

He walked as fast as he had before, looking to the horizon. Alex wasn't sure, but he thought he saw tears in the dwarf's eyes. Ravi had only hatred in his eyes, and Tal'Dore was the impassive statue of always. 

Alex wanted to ask what all that was about. If Kael'Talar had been a member of the guild, who was Rand'Allar. None of the old members allowed him space to ask, and he didn't consider the moment appropriate. Everyone jumped to their positions, and the carriage started walking. Just as the city guards kept moving the criminals to their destination,

"What was that all about?" Alex whispered to Tina, who was as impressed with the scene as he was,

"I don't know… I never heard of Kael'Talar being an adventurer, but it seems like that is the case, right? The way they talked about Rand'Allar, almost as if he was real…" She said, shrugging. "Where we got ourselves into? It looks like we are in the middle of legends and not just characters of the newspapers," She said, looking at him,

"We got ourselves in the right place," Alex muttered in response, and the girl just nodded, "Look, Tina. I have to say it. You need to be careful. The more I think about this mission, the more I think you shouldn't come," He said, looking down at the girl who stamped a surprised grim,

"Is this because of what Ravi said?"

"No, I was already thinking about it,"

"Don't think, then. I'll repeat myself for the last time. This was my dream before you appeared in my life, and I'll make it happen. I'll not die; I'll get stronger, and I'll become an S-Rank Adventurer,"

"Alright, I can vouch for that," Alex replied, feeling that he could've been the one saying those words. It felt good to be beside someone with such determination; the problem was that sometimes bravery could be a very peculiar kind of stupidity, and he truly hoped this was not one of those cases.

They kept walking for one more hour before reaching the city gates. They had passed an industrial side of the town, which surprised Alex. All seemed to be an early industrial revolution, but still, it was impressive. If Arcanite energy worked like electricity, the place would see cars in the streets in no time.

The city gates were in an elevated part of the town, and with each step close to it, Alex could see more of Valinor. In the far distance was the sea and the orc district. In front of it was the white elf district, then the commercial, then the industrial, but what surprised Alex was the other side of the city.

The immense building Alex had seen as a giant skyscraper the night he jumped through the portal stood tall in the distance. The construct was utterly black, right in the middle of the town. Alex thought he had seen people inside it before, but now he could see nothing. It looked like a gleaming, solid, big piece of black iron. It was like an alien ship had dropped an obelisk in immemorial times.

The strange construction divided the city in two. On one side were the workers and their houses; on the other, a pristine town filled with little white houses. Alex could see a second commercial district in the distance, buildings resembling old Greek temples and a large beach. While his side of the city seemed like any other European city at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the other side resembled a rich Renaissance Italy. Full of color, life, and no sights of poverty whatsoever.

In the extremity of the dark elf district lay the second tallest building of Valinor. A castle that seemed to have been removed from a movie. Its walls were white with circular black domes at the end of its four towers. Massive gates separated it from the streets, and little glimmering dots shone in the distance. Alex assumed each one of them was a soldier. The home of the empress. Maybe I'll pay a visit when I return, He thought as they passed through the gate.