Page 7

BANG. BANG. “SIR , this is your morning wake up! Curfew ends in fifteen minutes!” Bang. Bang. “Good morning, sir!”

Karl groaned as he rolled over, and then a jolt of adrenaline flashed through him when he had to forcibly stop himself from rolling off the bed. He had gotten maybe two hours of sleep, and he felt like it.

Bang. Bang. “Sir, this is your morning wake up!” the woman called through the door a second time, repeating what sounded like her normal morning mantra. “Curfew ends in fifteen minutes!” Bang. Bang. “Good morning, sir!”

Karl coughed to clear his throat and replied, “I’m awake! Thanks!” The banging on his door stopped and a moment later more banging started farther away as she moved on to another door.

Getting out of bed basically required completing the epic flop to the floor he had stopped just a moment ago.

He bumped his elbow on the edge of the bed and the thud was more dramatic than he intended, but quite frankly, he felt like he had actually been drugged.

A long day of travel coupled with the night’s adventure and copious overuse of his magic was apparently too much to handle with only two hours’ sleep.

Karl dressed and stuffed his things into his bag, then went over to the washbasin to clean his face.

He finally moved his shoes from the doorway, sitting on the edge of the bed to pull them on.

A quick check around the room and he didn’t find anything he had left behind.

Walking out into the hallway like a normal person with no need to be cautious was a nice change.

Unlike last night, Karl didn’t have to feign exhaustion as he reached the foot of the stairs and the front desk.

“Hard night?” the young man sitting there asked.

Karl grimaced. “I slept like a log, and I still feel like I need a few hours more. The travel yesterday must have exhausted me more than I thought.” He shrugged. “Hopefully, I can hire on to a caravan that will have space for me to sit or today is going to be difficult.”

The young man laughed. “Let me get you some tea. On the house.” He went into the tavern area and returned a moment later with a steaming teacup. “You have about five minutes until curfew ends,” he added as he passed the cup over for Karl to take. “I can’t let you leave until then.”

Karl blew on the tea to cool it. He also sent a tendril of magic in to see if anything had been added and found some sort of caffeine additive was dissolved in there.

While the caffeine was certainly welcome when he was this tired, it was calibrated to help him dissipate the last of the drugs.

He zapped it with magic to decay some of the caffeine, weakening it, and then took a slow sip.

“It’s fine,” Karl replied. “I’m still waking up. Thanks for the tea.” He blew on the tea some more and took another sip. “Can you tell me the best way to get to where the caravans are staged to head to Toval? I’m traveling to the coast.”

The man grinned and nodded, going to the window next to the doorway.

“Palace is right there, yeah?” He pointed to the looming building starting to reflect the edge of dawn sun peeking over the horizon.

“Keep it to your right when you’re walking, and you can’t miss it. About a five-minute walk from here.”

“Thanks.” Karl finished his cup and was in the act of handing it back to the receptionist when bells began tolling.

“And curfew has ended for the day. Thanks for staying with us!” The receptionist grinned as he slipped past Karl to flip the lock on the front door.

“The bed was comfortable,” Karl replied with an answering smile. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get the chance to come back this way, but if I do, I’ll definitely stay here again.”

He walked into the street. The rising sun provided just enough morning light for the road to be visible, which was a nice change.

Karl started walking, keeping the directions in mind as he went.

He had to retrace part of his path from the previous night, walking toward the palace, but at the first cross street he turned left to ensure the palace was to his right side, then kept going.

Almost exactly five minutes later, Karl walked into some sort of massive parade grounds.

Even rows of wagons, horses, or oxen picketed nearby filled the entire space.

Thankfully, a sign at the entrance said to continue straight for Toval, so he had some idea of where to go in the morass he waded into.

The noise was incredible, escalating louder and louder the farther Karl walked.

People were shouting to be heard, buying and selling from the caravans and trying to attract attention of passersby.

Animals brayed, children screamed as they played, and everything that could be making noise made as much noise as possible.

Some of the caravans had erected tents and put out tables to sell and hung decorations that chimed and clacked in the breeze.

Karl didn’t stop to admire the organized chaos, or even to shop, which his sister Emily would razz him for when he told her.

Somewhere in this mess was the caravan Ama had told him to find.

Every few rows another sign pointed him onward, until he finally reached one that pointed to the right for Toval.

He slowed down as he walked, carefully studying each person he saw. Ama said Karl would recognize the caravan leader, but each group he passed were only strangers.

“Are you looking for a caravan to join to head to Toval, sir?”

Karl turned to look at the girl who had spoken and nearly yelped when he saw Emily standing there.

She had tied her brown hair back in pigtail-style braids and wore the dress of a young girl, perfect for her age of ten.

Her eyes were the exact same shade of golden brown as Karl’s, but that was the only feature they had in common from their shared father.

Karl assumed they both looked like their mothers, who were different.

Emily still needed to grow into her features, so it was hard to say exactly how they compared.

Karl was tall at five foot eleven, and he knew his shoulders and arms were well-muscled from all the kneading he did, but otherwise he thought he was well-proportioned.

His hair was brown, too, but a darker shade than Emily’s.

His nose was a touch wide for his face, but above his full lips, he didn’t think that was too noticeable.

Whereas, Emily had a cute little button of a nose and the fierce air she had learned from her adoptive mother that said what she looked like was irrelevant because she was powerful no matter what.

The biggest difference between them was their magic.

Karl had red magic, but Emily had green healing magic.

She hated it, because healing didn’t help make her a better fighter—or at least that was what she thought.

Karl dreaded the moment she realized the uses being a healer could add to her fighting prowess.

What it meant was that if Ama had reached them last night as Karl hoped, Emily would have healed the wounds Karl’s magic wasn’t able to touch.

However, Emily was supposed to be safely in Etoval under the protective wing of her adoptive mother, Captain Patricia Zain of the Royal Guard, who was teaching Emily weapons and military leadership, much to Emily’s delight.

That was one of the many reasons Zain had adopted Emily, while Char had taken in Karl and their third sibling Shan.

Shan wasn’t blood related to Karl and Emily, but he was their brother all the same, a brother of the heart.

Karl wanted to ask Emily so many questions, to demand answers, but he knew better. Instead he gritted his teeth, forced a smile, and managed to nod cordially.

“I am. Is your caravan going to Toval?”

“We are!” She grinned happily at him, fully into her act of eager caravan child. The normal Emily was much more stoic and practical, rather than this obnoxiously bubbly scrap with the adorable grin and wide eyes.

“Are you going to the coast, or inland?” Karl asked. He looked over at the caravan they were in front of and found Ralph leaning against the table where their wares were laid out, his eyes sparking with mirth even as he hid his grin behind a stern frown.

Ralph was Fen’s third in command, promoted after Jensen took Captain Wong’s spot when he retired a few months back.

Karl was most used to seeing him acting as Char’s bodyguard, since Ralph was easily the best swordsman in Etoval, and, in fact, likely all of Toval too.

Fen, or Commander Prince Fenwick of the Royal Forces, was fourth in line to the throne, but in all the years Karl had known him, Fen was more of an adoptive father to Karl than his commanding officer.

Fen might not have been able to officially adopt Karl or Shan, but he was as much of a parent to them as Char.

Jensen had acted more in the commander role, especially since Karl had been sent to the Royal Forces to work off his conviction for attempted pickpocketing and was placed under Jensen’s watch.

Karl had then snuck Shan and Emily into the military complex, which led to all sorts of shenanigans. Four years later, here they were.

“The coast,” Ralph replied as Karl followed Emily closer. “We go through every city from Yari all the way down the entire coast of Toval. You looking to head to one of those, kid?”

“Miche. How much do you charge?”

“Depends on whether you’re willing to be an active participant as part of the caravan, or whether you’re cargo instead.”

“I’m happy to pitch in. I just finished school at Timmonsville for baking, but I’m a fair hand at cooking.”

“You help with that all the way to Miche, and I might pay you!” Ralph joked. “You in?”

Karl nodded. “Yes. When do you leave?”

“Just getting in a few more sales during the after-curfew rush. And to let the crowds at the gates die down a bit. Maybe by seven, we’ll head out. That good for you?”

“Since I don’t have anywhere else to stay tonight, leaving today is perfect.”

“Great! Come on back, and I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

Ralph clapped Karl on the shoulder when he got close, squeezing his fingers comfortingly.

Emily skipped past, scrambling up into the main wagon.

She made a racket even over the already insane amount of noise around them.

Ralph took the opportunity to lean in close and whisper “We’ve got him.

We were just waiting for you. We’ll get packed up and get moving right away. ”

Karl sucked in a breath, relief making his knees weaken, but he managed to climb up after Emily and grab her in a hug after Ralph closed the doors behind them.

“Who did you kill to get sent here?” he asked, squeezing until she squirmed.

“No one important. It was better for me to be out of Etoval for a few weeks, so they sent me here,” she added.

“Why? What happened?” Karl asked, holding her out at arm’s length and giving his patented older brother glare.

She shrugged. “Some important people wanted me for a meeting of some kind. I told them I was at drill. Mama Zain said some bad words to them, and they went to complain at Uncle Fen. Then Uncle Braxton came by and suggested I come out here.”

And since the matter didn’t include swords, military strategy, or some new fighting technique, Emily hadn’t learned anything more.

Karl knew that without even having to ask her for any sort of clarification or actual details.

He would have to ask Ralph, but later. Once they were out of Yari, or he might have to wait until they had crossed the Eiroi River into Toval—depending on how sensitive the information.

Either way, Karl would get someone to tell him what was going on.

“Hey, if you’re done stowing your belongings, we could use some extra pairs of hands out here!” Ralph called, banging on the side of the caravan.

Emily slid out from Karl’s grip. She took in a slow breath, and as she released it her facade of perky, overly happy child slid into place.

“Coming!” she chirped out and vanished out the door.

Karl looked around the inside of the caravan to find a spot to stow his bag where it wouldn’t slide during transport.

The caravan itself was completely enclosed, the insides stocked floor to ceiling with shelves, leaving only the narrow aisle in the middle to walk.

Karl found a spot between two small barrels near the front to tuck his bag between, before following Emily back outside into the din, hoping they would be able to get out of Yari and completely out of Yaroi quickly so he could finally get home again.