Caracara's Hunt 28 Eliot's Choice

Yawning, he stood up and went downstairs as well. There were only two people sitting at a corner table and speaking in whispers. They raised their heads when he entered, but didn't pay him much attention. Their conversation resumed moments later.

The kid wasn't in sight, so Arawn went to the counter and rang the bell. The innkeep wasn't present, but a young woman walked out from the back rooms. She gave him a toothy grin and asked what he wanted.

"My younger brother, he should have come here a bit earlier. Did you see where he went?"

"The black-haired kid? You should teach him not to run around when people are still sleeping. And he hurried outside. Didn't you send him to get you something?" the woman said with reproach.

She was misunderstanding something, but Arawn had no wish to find out what. He inclined his head, then went up the stairs to their room and woke Corwal. "Did you send Eliot somewhere?"

The man blinked, trying to return to the world of the wakefulness. "When? In my sleep?" He turned on the other shoulder and closed his eyes again. "You've been in this room the whole time, weren't you?"

"Eliot's missing."

Five seconds pa.s.sed before Corwal jumped out of bed. He threw the covers to the side and put on his shoes without saying a word. In less than half a minute, he was dressed and ready to leave.

"When did you notice?"

"Just now. He left over an hour ago, and he's not downstairs."

Hours and minutes were still a weird concept for Arawn, but he was starting to get used to them. Still, the bell towers warning was the only way for him to tell how long anything lasted.

"He might've gone into the city for supplies… But we don't really have any money…"

While muttering to himself, Corwal made his way down. He nodded to the woman who was still at the counter and left the inn.

It was still early in the morning, so the streets were deserted. They walked randomly for some time, or so it looked to Arawn. But soon they stopped before a castle in the middle of the city. It towered over every other building but the guard towers.

Without the sun in the sky to light it up, the ma.s.sive structure looked foreboding, like a squatting brown giant. Arched windows were like a thousand eyes looking at them. Sculptures of canine-like creatures were attached next to them, posed to leap down. The fact that their color had been washed away by time, leaving them green, somehow only made it worse.

"What is this place?" Arawn asked while looking around for anything that might jump on them. The large building unsettled him.

"The city lord lives here. He's the one most likely to have taken hold of Eliot. And I thought we left on good terms."

When they reached the gates, the guard let them through without any trouble. He even thanked them for helping out the other day. "You saved us there. We're all in your debt."

They nodded and went inside. A chamberlain told them to wait a moment, since the lord was occupied. This was surprising since it was early in the day, but they couldn't say anything. From what Arawn had learned so far, they were supposed to be happy the lord had even agreed to see them.

At least they were treated as honored guests. The chamberlain left them in a room flush with wealth. A giant crystal chandelier hung at the top with unlit candles. For a moment, Arawn wondered how anyone would reach them, then remembered fire control.

The walls were decorated with paintings and tapestries portraying various battles while the ground was covered by a colorful carpet. Instead of anything specific, it was full of ornaments that led from one side of the room to another.

While Arawn examined all of it, the chamberlain returned with hot tea and biscuits. They were sweet and crunchy. After Arawn ate the fifth one, however, Corwal started to glare at him.

"Am I not supposed to eat them?" Arawn asked, puzzled. Hadn't they been brought for them?

"Yes… Well, yes but not all! It's impolite to act like a starved animal."

Arawn looked at the rest of the bowl of biscuits with pity. If they didn't want him to eat them, why did they bring such a large bowl full of them? He waited for Corwal to look away, then stole another one and stood up to go admire a tapestry while silently gnawing on his prize.

In a while, the doors opened again, and the old man they'd seen the day before entered. He was dressed in muted colors and didn't look much like a lord at all. If Arawn had met him on the street, he'd have thought that the man was just another citizen based on his casual brown pants and s.h.i.+rt.

"You're early," the lord said. "I wasn't expecting you till midday or even later."

"You know why we're here." Corwal said it like a statement, not a question.

The lord nodded. "You should really teach your brother better. Waking a lord so early could make him lose his head."

As he said that, he stepped into the room, and the person behind him was revealed. Eliot stood there with his head down, hands clasped before himself. He glanced up at them, then lowered his head even more and scurried to stand by the lord again.

The old man went to sit on the sofa in front of them, and the chamberlain poured him a cup of tea. He'd gotten a new teapot, for the water was steaming hot once more.

"You want to say he came to you himself?" The news were surprising, but nothing showed on Corwal's expression. "Eliot? Is that true?"

"Y-y-yes," the boy stammered, his voice barely audible.

They waited for a full explanation, but that was it. Eliot didn't say a word more, only s.h.i.+vering where he stood.

For a moment, Corwal kept his gaze on him, putting pressure, then looked away and leaned back against the sofa. "Do enlighten me what this is about then. I'm eager to understand my role in this play."

Eliot swallowed, his face going pale, and even the lord seemed to sense that something not quite right was in the air. He waved his hand as if to scatter it.

"You've mistaken something. This morning, your brother came to me, asking if I could extend the opportunity I offered you two. He wants to train and learn under my people."

"And you would accept him because he's such a talent? Don't kid me. You care nothing for him."

Even the lord looked taken aback by the venom in Corwal's words, let alone Eliot who looked on the verge of tears. The boy squeezed the folds of his robes until his knuckles were white, but didn't say anything.

"We're not staying here even if you managed to tempt him into joining your side, so you can let him go." Corwal stood up with a sneer. "We're done here. Arawn, Eliot, we're leaving."

He made a motion for the boy, but Eliot backed off, shaking his head. "I can't! I can't!"

Corwal stopped, leveling a cold gaze on him. "And why's that? You already signed yourself away to him?"

"No." The boy shook his head again, and this time tears did fall from his eyes. He tried to say something, but choked on his words and had to restart again. "I can't travel with you, can't you see? I'm only a burden, always getting you in trouble!" He tried to brush away his tears, but even more of them fell. "I'm too useless, so I'm going to stay here. You'll be better off without me."

For a moment, Corwal didn't say anything. He watched the boy with an unreadable expression.

In the end, he turned to the lord. "Why would you accept him?"

"He's got good genes and may become a lot stronger in the future," the old man said with a ghost of a smile. "You two would also owe me a favor, which means I would be winning on two fronts at once. It's a deal hard to refuse, don't you think so?"

"Please don't hate me," Eliot whispered, finally looking up. His eyes were red and puffy, betraying that he'd already cried earlier. "I can't stay with you."

Corwal still had no reaction, but he stepped forward with a shrug. "All's fine then. Why should I keep you from selling yourself to this old man if that's your wish?" He enveloped the kid in a hug and pressed him tight against himself. In his ear, he whispered, "If he bullies you, just say one word, and he'll be off his seat in a heartbeat, understood?"

His words might have been quiet, but everyone in the room could hear them. The lord gave him a reprimanding look, then pretended he'd heard nothing.

Eliot tried to laugh, but only more tears rolled down his cheeks. He wrapped his hands around his master's back and wept unabashedly. "I'll grow up and become so strong that even you will envy me. Just watch! Then you'll never be able to say anything about me coming along!"

"I'm sorry," Corwal said, his voice warming up for the first time that day. "You must have been terrified."

"Next time, I won't be," Eliot swore with vehemence. He pulled away and looked up with clear eyes. "When we meet again, I'll be strong enough to defeat any monster."

"Good then." Corwal took off an unremarkable pin with the contours of a flower at the top and placed it in the boy's hand. "If you ever need to contact me, show this in the places I told you about before, okay?"

The boy clasped the pin in his hand and nodded. "I won't call on you though. I'll become strong and then will come to surprise you!"

"Sure, sure. And you,"—Corwal turned to the lord—"be good to him. You won't lose out."

"I almost miss yesterday's act," the old man said with a laugh and stood up as well. "You aren't just a normal ranker in the Scarlet Treason, are you? Well, all the better for me. I'll make sure he gets the best education that can be found here."

They exchanged a few more niceties, and Corwal told the lord to reach him through Eliot if there was ever a need. He was often on the road, so catching hold of him otherwise would be an almost impossible task.

Arawn just watched it all from the side, once again feeling like more of a spectator than a partic.i.p.ant. The games the two men played flew past him, and he could barely understand Eliot's choice. It was logical, but why would he do it? Was it because Arawn wasn't good enough in protecting him as he'd promised?

"I'll miss you," the boy said upon coming over a bit later. "Take care of Master, okay?"

His voice was low, and the two men still exchanging pleasantries or fighting, whatever it was they were doing in reality, didn't hear him.

When Arawn nodded, Eliot hugged him and returned to the lord's side. Corwal used that to end the conversation and said his goodbyes. There was nothing more to be said between them, and they just left the room then were led outside by the chamberlain.

"Are you really fine with this?" Arawn asked when they were some distance away from the castle. "You just allowed Eliot to stay at some unknown n.o.ble's place."

"Not that unknown. I've long heard good things about him, and upon interacting with him, I'm inclined to believe them. He didn't get furious when I showed no respect for his station nor did he seem to mind that we'd lied to him yesterday."

Arawn turned to him, surprised. "You were testing him?"

"Of course. Eliot isn't of n.o.ble blood, so I needed to know how that old man would act around a lowborn with social standing that didn't treat him like the hot deal. And he pa.s.sed with flying colors. He really is much more down to the earth than most of the court and doesn't stand on etiquette."

When they were about to reach the inn, Arawn posed another question. "What about that mercenary business? Are you really someone important among them?"

"You could say that. I set up that outfit after all."

"Can I ask if there's anything you haven't done or been?"

"I have yet to wear the king's crown. Or the queen's for that matter," Corwal said with a chuckle. "As for the rest… I've been running around the country since I was fourteen. Ten years is plenty of time to try out being everyone."