Grand Tour
Within minutes of Hanni finishing up Jibel stirred. Tukru woke up next. I announced the plans for the day while Tukru went to wash his face. He excused himself after, politely declining my invitation, and went out to look for Litoc. Jibel looked forward to it. Hanni gave me a nod. We ate the fruits on the table for breakfast as I wondered just how we were supposed to navigate a city we have not been to before.
As it turns out, Litoc already arranged for everything. As we exited the door, aside from the two guards who weren’t there when Litoc and I crashed in the night before, our attendant was waiting. It was Cheki.
“Good morning, Lord Jorj,” he greeted, standing up, “I have been tasked to accompany you today. A wagon has been made ready at the stables, breakfast is also ready. Oh, and this is for you, courtesy of His Highness, the prince.”
It was another pouch, larger and heavier than what Litoc gave me the night before. I unslung my backpack which sported the collapsible shield once more and put the pouch inside. The gold coins from Litoc, I already emptied into the vacant pouches on my belt.
I hope this isn’t what Litoc meant by lots more.
Cheki was not wearing the clothes that identified him as the castle’s messenger. Instead, he wore ordinary clothes which were in markedly better state than what Hanni or I was wearing. He gave no indication that he recognized us from Riverhold.
Must be tough keeping a straight face calling me lord while your shirt looks better than mine.
“Would you like to eat again?” I asked Jibel.
Jibel shook his head. Hanni too.
“A tour of the castle grounds then Lord, before we go?”
He was quick, perhaps too quick. I wondered if a real lord would have been offended at not being asked if he wanted to eat or not.
Jibel was looking up at me. We both wanted to see the castle grounds, although for different reasons. I gave the messenger a nod.
“Perfect. I’ve been made aware that you are already familiar with that side of the castle,” he pointed to our left, “so if you would follow me Lord, we will take this side.”
“Cheki?”
“Yes, Lord?” He replied without reacting to me calling him by his name.
So you do remember us.
“Please stop being so formal?”
“But Lord Jorj-”
“And stop calling me lord, or any of us.”
“I don’t mind.” Hanni remarked.
I could not tell if she was being serious or sarcastic.
“But Lord, I am under-”
“I don’t care what your orders were. Treat us like your friends and call us by our names, I’m sure you’ve been told what they are.” I insisted. Seeing his conflicted expression, I added, “That’s an order.”
“Yes… uhm, yes. Jorj. Understood.”
“Good. Now stop being stiff. And the two of you,” I addressed the soldiers, “we will not be needing you. You may return to your tratsus or nurto.”
The guards exchanged glances then reluctantly withdrew. Cheki nodded to us. I took that to mean we should follow him. Apparently, he was still still internalizing what I just asked him to do, and choose not to speak unless needed, lest he slip up. That was fine. He may be acting awkward until he got used to it but at least it would only be him. Being called lord repeatedly made me feel like I just wore a new shirt and the inside tag kept rubbing against the back of my neck.
Cheki didn’t speak again until we reached the stairs be the end of the corridor. He gestured to our left, at a set of wide, tall doors.
“Beyond those doors is the throne room. It’s where the King and Queen receives guests or grants audience to supplicants.”
Without waiting for any question or reply, he proceeded to walk a few steps then turned right.
“And here is the entrance to Bariststal.” He added, not stopping.
I was starting to feel like a student on a boring field trip with a boring guide.
“We are now passing through the inner gate, and that there is the middle gate,” he started walking noticeably faster, “and over there is the main barbican.”
He pointed far ahead of us, into the walls. Up on the ramparts, soldiers in their full armor, some in leather, some with metal, surveyed the area both in and out of the castle. Workers scurried around. Some were carrying benches, others in groups of four or more carried long tables. As we turned right, I saw smoke rising up from one of the sections in the wall.
“What’s over there?” I asked.
“That would be the kitchen l- Jorj.”
I turned to look back at the entrance then back at the kitchen. I called to mind the layout of the rooms at the back of the castle including the hall, trying my best to estimate the distance.
That’s pretty far.
“Why is it not inside?” Jibel asked.
“Oh, it wasn’t part of the original plans.”
“Why?”
“Because this was not a castle originally, it was a donjon. There was only a donjon there,” he pointed downwards, towards the castle, “and a kitchen there. Only the lower level of the donjon still remains today.”
“They didn’t think to make a kitchen inside the castle?” Jibel asked again, stepping closer to our guide.
“They did, I’m certain. But a royal kitchen is quite busy, and can be quite noisy. So, they decided to let the kitchen stay where it was. As a advantage, there is no smoke or smell inside the castle.”
I liked that Cheki was answering questions for the curious Jibel. I could see that he was doing his best to impart what he knew. I just wished there wasn’t more of that obviously tacked on tidbit.
“But the castle does smell.” Jibel remarked.
Go on kid, make me proud.
“Uh, uhm, yes.” The messenger looked to me, I just gave him a blank expression. “If you would follow me.”
Fortunately, Jibel’s blunt observation didn’t dampen the messenger’s mood. His nervousness began to dissipate, his pace going slower as me did a slight turn. Jibel followed him closely, paying attention to Cheki’s words. It was curious, in a way. The more Jibel asked questions and pointed out things, the more relaxed Cheki became. By the time we were in the outer ward, he even managed a smile.
“How hard would it be for you to get to those windows?” I asked Hanni who was looking uninterested, as always.
We passed by that side when we arrived. I saw the path we took before the soldiers rerouted us to the back of the castle. Though the ground level only had straight, upright walls on this side, the upper part curved to support the chambers above. The King and Queen’s rooms jutted by about half its length. Hanni gave the western face of the castle one sweep.
“Easy enough.” She replied.
“Really?”
“I suppose I just have to be careful at not being spotted, but if the object is just to get into any of those rooms from the ground, it will not be an issue.”
I am all for Hanni being conversational. I liked it that she now engaged me in replies of more than three words at a time but that statement, it sounded like Cheki’s claims about the added bonus of having the kitchen built out instead of in the castle.
“You would need tools though, right? A ladder, maybe?” I poked.
While I was skeptical of her claim, Hanni had surprised many times, and not once lied to me. As far as I know. I always chose to err on the side of caution when Hanni was involved. Caution being, well, Hanni. In betting terms, she was a sure win. So far.
“You’re assuming I’m going to start from underneath.”
“Where else would you start? Either there or from above which means one would still need to find a way up there.”
“That could be another way.” She paused as she considered that option. “Yes, it could be done. But it will waste time. I would rather just start there.”
She pointed at the wall of the archives. The side face of the walls underneath the monarch’s chamber terminated at a right angle towards the back. That part, being the corner, could only have been the archives.
As I kept one eye on Jibel and Cheki who were now several steps ahead of us, I suppressed the urge to gasp while listening to Hanni explain how she would infiltrate the chambers. She was going to Prince of Persia the entire thing. It was possible too, highly possible. With enough skill, that is.
The thing I find endearing and unsettling with Hanni sometimes, is the way she speaks with absolute conviction. Like nothing she sets her mind on would have any possibility of failing. Not even remotely. The approach she would take to breach the chambers, was one example. I doubt even Tukru would manage that.
“Why are you fascinated with that anyway? Did you find anything last night?” She inquired after finishing her explanation.
“Lam. We didn’t. I was just curious, that is all. I’ve heard of people die of fright. But not together, in separate rooms, at the same time.”
“You’re not really thinking of that are you, Jorj?”
“No, no I’m not. But I still didn’t find anything to that regard.”
It was one of things she scoffed at when I told her the story of my arrival to this world. I was aware how it sounded but that is what I saw. She chucked it off as confusion. I’m surprised she even remembered after hearing the soldier’s account.
“I wouldn’t dwell on it,” she spoke, deep in thought, “it doesn’t matter anymore. It’s their concern now. As far as our reason for coming this far is concerned, it’s all over now, isn’t it?”
“You’re right. I can’t wait to be back in Osea. This is all too… I don’t know the words. It’s not for me.”
She nodded but didn’t look my way. I could see that she was thinking hard, her right hand absentmindedly going to her left arm and running it through the length of her bracer. She only does that when she’s spacing out. Spacing out might not be the right description, but it’s as close as it gets when it came to Hanni. Worrying, obsessing. Those words might suit others, but not her.
I should ask her.
“That’s still for Church, isn’t it?” Jibel asked, pointing to the corner of western wall.
It was a square, tower-like structure that rose above the walls and had crenelations on top. There was a door at the bottom and beside it was a wooden set of scaffoldings providing a platform accessible from a cut in the wall that acted as stairs leading up into the ramparts.
“Why yes,” Cheki replied, “how did you know?”
The boy shrugged then said something but I didn’t catch it. I suddenly found myself nitpicking Hanni’s statements, trying to find what she wasn’t saying. I scolded myself for that. There was no advantage to obsessing about things I could not control.
Should I ask her?