They had detected her.
Of course, they would. Carysse was not from here so it was inevitable that the city guards posted on almost every visible rooftop would notice. The singing drunk men sang of the mighty Apharothia at the ship last night. They mentioned the city with flying gold swords. Carysse thought that it was just a play of their tipsy state. The sentries at the entrance weren’t strict as they let anyone enter. But now that she was walking the first street, she could see why Apharothia was called the center city and why they were worthy of being the host for Gairoshi.
Their guards weren’t on the ground. They were stationed above. Clothed in red and gold armor, they were like magicians with swords or arrows. She saw one of them nudge his pair’s elbows and his partner nodded to the others, as if giving a signal.
Looks like it was true that Apharoth was not lenient to its security.
Carysse walked faster, her wooden sandals pounding the pavement louder than she intended. The afternoon sky was heavily grey. People were already closing shops as she passed by, knowing that the rain will not be a normal downpour. She had to find an inn but it was not easy with all those eyes guarding her.
She wondered what gave her away. She was dressed normally with her long skirt almost sweeping the floor and her blouse patterned to the style of Apharothia women with its wide long sleeves but hugging the bust too tight in the front area. She even put on a shawl, hiding her braided midnight-colored hair. Her friends back in her province would be laughing at her appearance. Carysse never wore long clothings or coverings, and didn’t even fix her hair. She just thought it would be convenient to blend with them. She even bought the clothes in the ship that she got into last night with the last gold that she had. She sacrificed her breakfast and lunch for the garments.
But now that they saw her disguise…
Or she could just be imagining it.
Maybe she was just being paranoid, especially because she was alone in this mission, out in enemy territory. No back-up. No village leader to rely on. No friend to run to. Carysse hoped that was the case. That she was just overreacting to everything since she was in foreign land.
She convinced herself, then. Any other extra worry would just give her away more easily. She couldn’t be caught now, not after everything.
The plan…
When the first arrow wheezed through cheek and, she remained calm.
Carysse was brimming with focus. She had been attacked too many times and encountered far more dangerous arrows that a simple attack towards her was already normal that her body didn’t even react. She just continued walking like nothing happened.
Only when she felt the eight shadows about to pounce on her from above did she brought out a smoke bomb from the insides of her sleeves. She made sure that all of them got close before she smashed it on the ground, blinding them for a little while.
Carysse took advantage of it and her eyes spotted an alley. She entered it and went straight inside an unfinished building. It seemed like a stagnant project because it was wide and inside of it was a maze but there was no roof.
Just when she thought that she was safe, a hand suddenly rested on her arm and her body automatically moved, her legs already extended to whoever was behind her. She had even drawn her dagger.
“Ow!”
It was a woman. She was wearing a fur cloak and as she stood to dust herself, Carysse realized that she must have kicked a noble lady, especially when she saw the jewels beneath her cloak. She also had that regal aura that all noble ladies had. They were also like that in the old Thalisse. But then she doubted. Why would a noble lady be walking through the dirty streets of the city alone?
The woman flinched when she saw her weapon.
“Goodness! Why are you carrying that around here? No wonder you are being chased!” Carysse put her guard up. The woman knew she was being chased yet she still approached. The sound of the approaching guards with their angry shouts brought Carysse back to her current situation.
“Come with me,” the woman said as she put up her hood, covering her hair that had visible white hairs. She turned as if expecting Carysse to follow her easily but she didn’t. Realizing that no one was at her back, the woman stopped and gave Carysse the eye.
“You want to be kidnapped by some harmless old woman or do you want to be taken into custody by the guards? Choose for yourself,” she said and continued into a dark passage at the end of the half-finished building.
With the sound of the guards coming to a close each second , she didn’t really have much choice. Carysse followed the disappearing footsteps of the lady. They walked through a maze of dirty old walls like they were traversing the skeleton of a huge abandoned building. They had been walking for about fifteen minutes and Carysse was sure that if she ever attempted to go back, she would be lost. Although Carysse could catch up to the woman in no time, she put a large distance between them because she was that suspicious.
The woman stopped, turned towards Carysse, waved at her and waited for her until Carysse was by her side. When Carysse caught up, they were in front of a wide gate. It was unfinished with all its unpainted beams and missing spikes on the supposed-to-be portcullis but it served its purpose well. From the dirty maze of the building, it was a gateway to a whole different world.
Men and women who were dressed elegantly passed by them. Most of them had servants in humble brown clothes trailing after them. The houses here were big and made of shockingly valuable elements. She spotted a house with a golden gate, another with silver walls, and she even spotted a house built with the iron tusks of elephants. Carysse could tell it because back in the original Thalisse, it was a signature of the rich people to build their homes with animal parts as precious stones weren’t that really a big deal at Thalisse.
“This is…”
“Apharothia, the center city of Apharoth,” the lady answered and smiled at her. “Welcome, my dear. I hope you will excuse the guards earlier. Security is just tight because of the upcoming Gairoshi.”
Ah, yes, the Gairoshi, Carysse thought. She almost forgot. If only she could.
“Oh, you can let down your hood. This is a busy place. No one will give you suspicious looks anymore.”
True enough, no one was looking in her direction even though she was dressed poorly. They must be thinking that she was a servant of the lady beside her. Carysse took off her hood and let the ends of her hair tumble freely near her waist.
“You look awfully tired, my dear,” she noted.
Yeah, me and my friends have been ambushed. We have been separated. Then I crossed a sea, only to be met with arrows, Carysse bitterly thought but she didn’t say it out loud.
“Come and rest at our camp for a while. Then you can go your own way whenever you feel like to.” Her voice was filled with concern. She must have discerned the tiredness and stress on Carysse’s face for she never smiled once since they met each other.
“Camp?” asked Carysse.
“Oh, I’m actually not from Apharothia. We received a letter from the king. We’re here for the prestigious event.”
All the warmth that Carysse was feeling dissipated. It began to drizzle again. Carysse felt her hands go cold. If the noble was here for the Gairoshi, then she is an enemy that she ought to be wary of.
She was reminded that she was in enemy territory. This place would soon be flooding with competitors. She should not carelessly attach herself with some random people.
“You’re here for the Gairoshi?” Carysse asked with a deep tone.
The lady raised a brow at her. “Gairoshi? Goodness, no!” Her response surprised Carysse.
“That Gairoshi is just for the ambitious. I’m here for the other one–the twin of Gairoshi.”
“Twin of Gairoshi?”
Chaos and Elder Shimar never mentioned anything about a twin of the Gairoshi. The noble looked at her from head to toe and sighed, as if pitying the fact that she was a clueless woman.
“Gairoshi is for those who want to be king. Throughout the years that Gairoshi was being implemented, it has been widely concluded that it is not a safe place for women although they are welcome to join the bloody fights. But there is a much safer and more lenient version. It’s an event exclusive to women who want to raise their ranks. It’s called Zeikontour.”