Descent Into Darkness (Book 2) Page 15

  When the man seemed to have heard enough applause and chants of his own name, he raised his hands, instantly silencing the crowd. When he spoke, his voice boomed as it echoed around the room.

  "Greetings, ladies and gentlemen! Thank you for such a prestigious welcome! As much as I love to travel about the land, sharing my stories with all to hear, I never receive as warm of a welcome as I do when I perform here at the High Horse Inn!"

  Again the room erupted into applause and chants of the Sparkteller's name. Fists and empty mugs were banged onto table tops, and a few of the women even made some remarks that put a little color into Ean's face. Apparently the man was known for more than just being an excellent Sparkteller. This time Tremain just took everything in and waited for the crowd to die down on its own before speaking again.

  "Now, for those few that have the misfortune of never having seen me perform before," he paused as laughter filled the room before continuing. "My name is Tremain Faustman, and I will be your Sparkteller for the evening." Again he paused as applause filled the room.

  The man sure likes to receive adulation, Ean thought as he sipped at his drink. Tremain waited for the applause to die down on its own again before continuing.

  "Tonight, I intend to amaze you with stories of bravery and action, tug at your heart with stories of love and heartbreak, and terrify you with stories of the most horrendous beasts and monsters. But don't worry, I'll give those that are faint of heart fair warning to leave before I get to those stories."

  He winked at the audience, which brought around another round of laughter. The man was effective at controlling the crowd, and as much as Ean wanted to hate his smarmy attitude, he couldn't help but laugh along with everyone else. Taking another sip of his drink, Ean listened as the man continued on.

  "Now what story should I begin with?" Another pause as a variety of names were shouted out, none of which Ean had ever heard of before. After a moment, Tremain reached out and seemed to grasp at something in front of him and pull it in. "Ah yes, an excellent suggestion."

  Cupping his hands together, he brought them to his face and opened them just enough to peek inside. He glanced quickly at the crowd with a grin and then returned his gaze to what was in his hand. Closing his hands together again, he returned his attention to the crowd.

  "Should I show you what story I've caught?" He barely finished his sentence before the crowd yelled out a resounding "Yes!"

  "Alright then, here it is... the tale of Dayson and the Beast!"

  Throwing his hands out wide, multicolor sparks seemed to shoot out of his fingertips. At first they seemed to be shooting out at random but as more and more of those sparks escaped his fingers, they began to pool together in front of him. Ean's jaw dropped as those sparks began to form the image of two bodies up on the stage.

  The first body was clearly a dark skinned man dressed in deep red, leather armor with short hair of a similar color. The image stood almost two heads higher than Tremain and was twice as wide as the thin Sparkteller. He carried a small dagger in each hand, the thin blades on each seeming to writhe in the air. Ean wasn't sure if that effect was on purpose or if whatever Tremain was doing caused it. Most of the image was highly detailed, but the face of the man was a blur of colors and did not have any distinguishable features.

  The second body that appeared was certainly not human. Four legs covered in a purplish shell that ended in points where the feet should have been stretched up to a torso that appeared more human than its lower half. Two pairs of arms stuck out of its body, the lower set was shorter and ended in points while the upper set was normal sized but ended in a pair of pinchers. Its head was more insect than human, with four large antennae sticking out of the top.

  Ean almost fell out of his chair. It was the same type of creature from his dream, or vision, or whatever it was that he had experienced. The ugly creature, which at the moment was standing face to face with the man that Ean assumed was Dayson, could have come directly from his vision. Ean's first instinct was to get out of his chair and run, but since the other people in the room were all applauding loudly and not running for their lives, Ean stayed cautiously still.

  Glancing to his right, he was surprised to see Azalea in a state of near panic. The Yulari was half way on the table, one foot on the bench and the other almost on the table as well. Her mouth had dropped open more than Ean's had, and the effects of her binging on the emotions of the room seemed to have disappeared.

  The people immediately around them began to laugh at her reaction until she shot them all a look. Whatever she put into that look made everyone quiet down real quick. Fortunately, the other patrons didn't seem to notice, and the Sparkteller launched into his story.

  The story of Dayson focused on the man's quest to kill the beast that had murdered a caravan of traders near some city that no longer existed. The story itself wasn't very interesting, but the Sparkteller was able to bring it to life with his skill in creating images. Ean watched as Tremain recreated the gruesome scene of the creature attacking the caravan, as Dayson tracked the creature's trail of destruction and then the final battle. It was amazing what the Sparkteller could do with what clearly had to be some form of magic. The story had been so entertaining that Ean barely noticed that he had not only finished off his own drink, but also Azalea's.

  When the story was finished, the room erupted in applause, most people standing in ovation. Ean was quick to join them and was surprised to see Azalea on her feet clapping as well. He never would have expected the Yulari to be that entertained by a simple story, even one so amazingly portrayed, but she was applauding just as loudly as everyone else.

  Tremain seemed to be taking it all in, a giant smile painted on his face as the applause washed over him. Tiny beads of sweat covered his face and he was taking long breaths but the smile never left his lips. Ean's hands were starting to hurt from the length of the applause when Tremain raised both hands to silence the crowd. Most kept applauding a little longer, but the Sparkteller didn't seem to mind. When the last of the applause finally died off, Tremain spoke to the crowd.

  "I'm glad you enjoyed my first tale, but I fear I've made a mistake!"

  The immediate response of the crowd was a resounding "No!" and chants of "Tremain!" started up. Of course, the Sparkteller allowed it to continue for a bit before raising his hands to silence the crowd once again.

  "Yes, yes, despite your confidence in me, I did make a mistake. My mistake was to start off with such a gripping and exciting tale. How could anyone top the story of Dayson and the Beast? I should have started out with a lesser story, maybe the heart-wrenching story of ill-fated lovers Ramone and Isabelle or the darkly humorous tale of The Vengeful Water Spirit."

  "I am so sorry, my friends, to have started so strong and not planned ahead. Such a large mistake should not come from a Sparkteller with so many years of experience. I feel like a common storyteller, who, even without my abilities, could have at least planned out their stories to slowly build in excitement over the night. Perhaps this is a sign that I should retire and give the younger Sparktellers a chance to shock and amaze you."

  Again, yells of "No!" and "Tremain!" filled the common room. Tremain himself ducked his head, shoulders slumping, and tried to wave them off as he shook his head. To most in the room he probably looked defeated, but being up front Ean got a good view of the man's face. Tremain was wearing an enormous grin. It was all part of the show.

  The Sparkteller let the chants go on a little longer and finally raised his head and hands, silencing the crowd once more. The smile was gone from his face, replaced by heavy eyes and downturned lips. Ean couldn't decide if he disliked the man for all of the theatrics or if he enjoyed them.

  "Thank you," Tremain continued once the crowd had grown silent. "I have always appreciated the support of the people. For you, I will still continue on this night and give you a show, although it will be a poorer one than you deserve. I simply hope that you still think fondly of me as I
retell the fateful story of...Jamirian and the Living Blade!"

  The explosion of cheering and applause that erupted from the crowd made Ean jump. Clearly this next story was greater than the first, going by the crowd's reaction. The dejected look, of course, was gone from the Sparkteller, and he lifted his hands as the sparks of multicolor light flew from his fingertips.

  This time, a much smaller man appeared, his face a blur, as well. He was clothed in a simple shirt and pants, in a similar fashion to many of the people in the room. What really caught Ean's eye was the sword in his hand. The blade, half as long as the man wielding it, shone with a dark blue light and was more detailed than any of the other images the Sparkteller had created so far. Intricate designs covered the blade itself, its hilt a mesh of twisting yellow lines that could have been gold. The image of the man periodically twirled the blade around as the crowd continued to cheer.

  Ean sat back and marveled at the Sparkteller's ability to control the crowd. If Ean could control the creatures he summoned half as well as Tremain could control the people in the room, he would be happy. Taking a sip from his somehow freshly filled mug, Ean couldn't help but smile as the Sparkteller began his second story.

  Jamirian had been a farmer who one day was digging in his fields and found a sword. The sword turned out to be magical and imbued with intelligence. Some dark force found out about the blade and this put Jamirian on the run as he tried to learn more about his new companion. The story ended with Jamirian just barely escaping from a cult army and continuing his quest to learn more about his blade.

  Jamirian's story was more impressive than the previous one, with a great deal of suspense and quite a few battles. When the story finally came to a close, the crowd again bathed the Sparkteller in applause. Tremain let the crowd applaud for a bit longer than last time, and again began to complain about how he could not top that story. He put on another show of being disappointed in himself before finally revealing the next story, which did end up being even more impressive. This back and forth continued for five more stories, each one more thrilling than the last, until the Sparkteller gave his final bows and left the stage.

  THE CROWD ROSE TO their feet as he left, clapping and yelling out compliments, the women sometimes more vocal than the men. Ean heard quite a few offers from a variety of women that flushed his cheeks. He tried to stand and applaud as well, but ended up becoming dizzy and sitting back down. Maybe it wasn't the brash words that made his face flush.

  Glancing behind him at the three empty mugs, Ean tried his best to remember how much he had consumed during the Sparkteller's performance. It had to be more than those three mugs, as he vaguely remembered his cup being refilled a few times while it was still in his hand. Now that he thought about it--as well as he could considering his condition--Azalea had poured her mug into his quite a few times during the night as well. At the time Ean had thought the gesture had been nice coming from the Yulari, but now as his head became heavy and his vision blurry, he wasn't entirely sure.

  Looking around, Ean wasn't able to spot the Yulari anywhere in the crowd. Had she left his side before the last story or had she gotten up before the story before that? Shaking his head to try and clear it up a bit, he stretched his senses to see if she was still close by. It took him a while to feel anything, and surprisingly he felt the smaller form of Zin above him first. Feeling out for a bit longer, he finally felt her over in the direction of the bar.

  Pushing himself up on wobbly legs, Ean walked his hands along the table as he moved. Once he reached the end of the table, his legs felt strong enough to support him on their own and he carefully began to make his way through the crowd towards the bar. Quite a few of the other patrons Ean passed seemed to be in just as bad of condition as he was, making him feel slightly less embarrassed. He really had to watch how much he drank in the future.

  The bar was still packed as Ean reached the end closest to the stage. Most of those sitting at the bar were talking with the people in the immediate vicinity, sharing drinks and a few still having a bite to eat. Down at the end of the bar, though a great deal of people, from common workers to nicely dressed merchants, were all gathered in a circle around one person. Ean would have known that one person was Azalea even if he couldn't feel her.

  Moving next to the gathering of people, Ean tried to push his way through but was just as quickly pushed right back.

  "You don't have a chance, boy," one man dressed in a fancy looking green coat and pants said as he sneered at Ean.

  "You're a little young for this one, I think," another man who could not have had more than a few years on Ean said.

  When a third man simply growled at him while placing a hand on his shoulder and shoving him back, Ean had had enough. His head was already half filled with alcohol and now the rest was filled with contempt. Contempt for these weak individuals that were falling all over each other just to get the tiniest bit of attention from Azalea.

  Taking in the energy from the Abyss, Ean grabbed the man's hand with a gloved one of his own. Ean's initial instinct was to unleash his energy into the man, forever altering him in some way. That would certainly get the others attention. But that was the alcohol thinking, not his own desires. Deforming the man would probably get him killed by everyone else in the room, and if not, it would certainly bring the Seekers down on him.

  So instead, he simply began to squeeze. At first the man just sneered at him, neither intimidated nor impressed. But as Ean applied more and more pressure, the energy of the Abyss increasing his strength, the man's expression changed first to confusion, then fear, and ended with panic and pain as the bones in his hand started to grind together in Ean's grip. Ean kept up the pressure, almost positive that if he tightened even the slightest bit more he would hear the crack of broken bones. When the man's face started to go pale, Ean finally released him, giving the man as cold of a stare as he could manage.

  The man, now nursing his hand, quickly got up and moved away without another word. Those around him took one look at his face and cleared a path for him to Azalea as well. Ean had no idea whether it was because they had watched what he had done or because of his expression, but either way he didn't care. He moved quickly through the opening and was not surprised by what he saw.

  Azalea was sitting on one man's lap, her hand caressing another man's face while she spoke to a third. All three did not even bother to hide the jealous looks they shot at each other before sending all smiles at the Yulari. Whenever Azalea moved her attention to the rest of the men gathered around her, the three closest would simply glare at the rest, as if their stares alone could make the other men disappear. When she finally noticed Ean pushing his way through, she gave a squeal of delight and hopped off of the man's lap.

  "Ean, you're still awake! How wonderful that you chose not to pass out again and have me carry you off to bed. Is my little brother finally able to handle more than one drink?"

  Playfully grabbing his side, she smirked at him. Despite himself Ean found a smile starting to touch his lips and quickly tried to squash it. The Yulari had tried to get him drunk, probably so he would be out of her way and wouldn't try to stop her from playing. Her words though were missing their usual scorn and sarcasm...

  "Azalea, I think we should probably call it a night," Ean said in as serious a tone as he could muster. "We have to get up early tomorrow and have a lot of planning to do."

  "Not at all! By pure luck I met the one person you need to see." Gesturing a hand towards the man that had until recently been her seat, Azalea flashed the older gentleman a smile before returning her attention to Ean. "This happens to be Meganan Ciantar, patriarch of the Ciantar Hawkpurse family. We've been becoming close friends, haven't we, Meg?"

  As the man rose to his feet, Ean took a closer look at him. Standing almost a head taller than Ean, Meganan was in his later years with a face that contained more lines and wrinkles than an unmade bed. His white hair was cut short and neat, which matched his closely trimmed eye
brows and small mustache of similar color. His clothing was less impressive than Ean expected for the man who ran one of the most powerful trading families in the land. He wore a simple black tunic and matching pants that had seen better years, and his boots looked as though they had seen their fair share of travels.

  The coldness in his eyes was reflected in his voice when he spoke.

  "And who is this young gentleman, Azalea? A servant of yours perhaps?"

  "No, Meg, you jealous old man," Azalea replied with a short laugh. "This is my older brother, Ean. He'll be joining me on your caravan as well."

  "Brother?" Meganan seemed to taste the word at first, then apparently content with it, offered Ean a hand and a slightly warmer smile. "Pleasure to meet you, lad. Your sister is quite the interesting woman, but I'm sure you already know that."

  "Yes, well--" Ean started but Meganan just kept talking right over him, the older man's attention back on Azalea.

  "Very sneaky of you not mention your brother before. I may have promised you a free ride into the Deadlands, but that same offer doesn't apply to your brother. For him to come, he either has to pay the traveler's fee or work, and going by what you have told me about your family, I doubt you will be able to pay."

  "This is true," Azalea replied with a heavy sigh. "With our parents gone and our farm nothing but ashes, we have little money. Thankfully my brother has always worked hard to keep us alive. I'm sure he will be happy to work at whatever job you need filled. Isn't that right, Ean?"

  "That's right, whatever I can do to pay OUR way," Ean said through clenched teeth. He shot Azalea a look that hopefully left no doubt about how he felt about the situation. The Yulari probably could have gotten them both a free ride on the caravan, but she just loved to make his life difficult.