Chapter Two Hundred and Fifteen: Tower

After quickly putting the rest of my armour on, I reached for my sword that was leant up against the side of my bed. I quickly attached it to my belt and then grabbed my potion pouch.

I slipped it open and checked the contents. “Not as many as I’d like.”

There hadn’t been a chance to restock since we had returned. Hopefully I wouldn’t need any of them.

With everything in order, I headed back out to the corridor.

Aetherin was still standing just outside waiting. I looked along the hall to see Lucy and Ameri were already on their way back.

I looked to Aetherin. “Everything quiet here?”

She nodded. “Just the odd adventurer heading downstairs. Probably going to see what all the commotion is about.”

“I expect so.”

The two girls now dressed in their armour stopped just outside my door.

Ameri quickly looked me over. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, let’s go and see if anyone knows what’s happening yet.”

I set off back down the corridor towards the stairs with the three girls following behind.

The scene at the reception desk hadn’t calmed down in the time it had taken to grab our gear. It had grown more chaotic. There were many more adventurers hanging around in front of desk trying to get some information on the current situation.

From the foot of the stairs, I could see that Jules had already returned to the desk. Despite there now being two people manning the reception now, she was too busy dealing with the queue to notice we had returned.

The four of us made our way to the back of the queue and started to wait our turn.

It was the other girl on the desk that noticed us first. She gently nudged Jules in the side.

Once pointed in our direction she started to wave us over. “Theo, come to the desk!” Then seeing that the other adventurers weren’t about to move, she lifted the hatch and tried to clear a path. “Please let them through.”

Some of the crowd moved, but not all seemed happy. “Hey, we’re all waiting in line here!”

“Sorry, important guild business. Let them pass.”

They gave in and stepped out of the way.

With a clear path to the desk, the four of us squeezed our way to the front.

Once there Jules took me by the hand. “Can I have a moment?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“I’ll explain in a moment…” She looked to the other girls. “Are you okay to wait here?”

All three nodded and Aetherin answered. “That’s fine, go ahead.”

Jules led me through the reception and out the back door. In the corridor she stopped and glanced up and down the hall to check it was clear. “You should go and check on the wall. Things are moving fast outside of the walls. Lisa told me you had some friends out there.”

“I do.”

“You should be able to make out some of the movement from the wall, but you might want your other friend to check on them.”

“Thanks Jules… Lisa told you about them? Everything?”

Jules nodded slowly and smiled. “Don’t worry, she only told me because she knows I trust you… I know you wouldn’t do anything that would endanger us.” She pulled me close and kissed me for a moment. “Take the girls outside with you and watch your back. It’s getting a little wild out there. I want to be able to continue on from earlier.”

“I’ll be careful.”

“Good!” She stepped back towards the door. “You should get going.”

Jules pushed the door open, and we both stepped back inside the reception. The number of adventurers at the front desk had increased yet again, in the short time we had been in the corridor.

I lifted the hatch and stepped back into the foyer to meet with the other girls.

Aetherin looked a little concerned as she approached. “What was that about? Is everything okay?”

“I hope so… You three should come with me.”

I started to walk to the exit, but Ameri blocked my path. “Hold on, what’s going on and shouldn’t we wait for the others?”

“I’ll explain outside. I don’t want to talk in here. Don’t worry about the others just yet. If they come here looking for us Jules will explain what’s going on.”

“If you say so.”

I hurried to the exit and quickly stepped outside. There were a few adventurers milling around near the door, so I walked halfway down the steps and out of earshot before I stopped to talk to the others.

Lucy gently touched my shoulder. “Theo, what’s going on? You look worried.”

“I am… There’s a lot of movement outside the walls. I’m worried about our friends we left at the abandoned village.” I looked out across the square. “We need to get up on the walls and take a look. Jules said I should be able to make out some of the movement up there, but I’ve no idea how we get up the walls.”

Lucy smiled warmly at me. “Don’t worry about that.” She glanced at Ameri. “We can show you the way. It’s been a while, but we still know our way around.”

“Thank you! That’s a relief.”

Ameri laughed. “We’ll take you straight to the best spot with an all-around view. Just follow us!”

“Great.”

The two girls set off down the steps at a quick pace. Aetherin and I followed straight behind them.

As we walked, I looked to Aetherin. “Can I ask you a favour?”

A smile spread across her face as she nodded. “Of course! Ask me anything.”

She seemed pretty pleased to be asked.

“Great. It’s not much, but could you watch our backs as we go around the city?”

“I would anyway… Are you worried about something happening?”

“It’s a possibility. This place was infiltrated before we left, and now it’s in chaos it would be the perfect opportunity for someone to act…”

Her parasol slipped from under her arm as she walked and swung in her hand in line with her stride. “Don’t you worry Theo, as long as I’m still breathing no one will lay a hand on you.”

“Thanks… Just don’t jump the gun. Most people here have nothing to do with what’s going on right now and everyone is a little on edge.”

“I shan’t lay a hand on anyone unless their intent is to harm you.”

We followed Ameri and Lucy across the square until we reached the side streets at the far end. There they led us through a series of small roads until we reached a tall tower built into the city walls.

As we reached the entrance the pair stopped.

Ameri turned to Aetherin and me. “Up here. If you’re able to see their movements anywhere, this will be the best place.”

“Thanks, both of you.”

Lucy stepped up to the door and tried the handle. To my surprise it was unlocked, and the door swung open. I knew that City was low on guards and that they probably struggled to man every post along the walls, but leaving a tower like this seemingly unmanned didn’t seem like the best move. Not in the city’s current situation.

Lucy walked inside, followed by Ameri. I walked in after them with Aetherin keeping the rear.

Inside was a small and practically bare room. In the far corner was a spiral stone staircase. It had to lead to the roof.

Lucy and Ameri made a beeline for the stairs. I followed quickly behind. Aetherin trailed behind for a moment as she stopped to close the door behind us, but she caught up in a flash.

There seemed to be at least four stories worth of steps before we reached the roof. It took a few minutes before we reached the top.

We stepped out onto a platform surrounded by a waist height stone parapet.

The girls we right, this was great place to check out the ground below. I could see over the entire city below and there was an almost a three hundred and sixty degree view of the surrounding land.

What I saw below concerned me. I had been expecting to be met with a sight of near complete darkness down below. But the land was dotted by almost a sea of small campfires and torch lights moving around. Their numbers seemed to be growing even as I watched on.

There were rows of light moving across the ground below. I couldn’t think that they were anything other than columns of troops moving across the countryside. I wasn’t an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I was immediately worried about what was going on and the safety of our friends down below.

The four of us exchanged worried glances at each other.

Lucy was the first to speak. “I’m sorry Theo, but it doesn’t look good.”

I had to agree with her.