Chapter 13 #2
Nori and I looked terrible, there was no way we could arrive at the castle looking like this. We’d need the chance to ready ourselves, or we’d be turned away at the gates, effectively ending our mission before it had even begun.
When I looked up, I saw that what lay before us was a modestly-sized, unassuming house of bright orange clay with very few windows.
The roof appeared to be made out of straw thatching matted together with even more clay.
I looked around, assessing my surroundings.
The house was a short distance from the next one, but the sprawling arrangement of houses and huts, though varied in size, were constructed of the same material, interconnected by narrow corridors and what could generously be called streets.
There was sand everywhere, mostly colored a burnt orange.
The air was dry and there was the occasional pungent odor of livestock.
Saryn continued to unload our packs from the carriage and moved them in the front door one by one.
There wasn’t a doubt in my mind this was the safehouse, which meant we had successfully accomplished step one.
I looked around, hoping to see Varro, but he and Cairis had already departed to their next destinations. I longed for him—to see his face and seek comfort in the crystal-blue depths of his eyes. And…to possibly ask for a back massage, I thought to myself humorously.
Artume’s landscape was stark and utterly foreign.
Saryn looked up and down the streets skeptically, as if taking note of any onlookers who might suspect this was anything more than a delivery of goods to trade.
He ushered us both inside quickly. The house was dimly lit and lacking in just about everything.
Only Saryn would be staying here, so I doubted he’d lift a finger to put any sort of effort into making it feel like an actual home.
In typical Saryn fashion, he began ordering us around.
“Both of you need to bathe and get into your intended attire, then we will transport you to your stations.”
“Gods, can we get a drink of water first? Perhaps, even relieve ourselves?” I muttered in irritation.
“Do what you must, Cress, stop asking for permission.”
Saryn began to mill about the room unpacking his own things while I reached for the pitcher to pour Nori and I large glasses of water.
We both chugged them quickly but not carefully, the water spilling down our chins and out of the corners of our mouths as we satisfied our thirst. Nori emphatically held her cup out for a refill, and we laughed for a moment at the absurdity of looking wholly unrefined.
Our High Fae etiquette was now a distant memory.
Once satiated, Nori made her way to the wash room.
When she was finished, she carried out her disgusting bathwater, murky and brown from the dirt and dust that had previously coated her tiny body.
I could finally see the vibrancy of her hair returning as it fell in thick wet locks to her cheeks.
Now, in her garment, she truly looked the part.
I refilled the tub with clean water and began to work on myself.
Washing away all the silt and grime felt luxurious, and I began to dread that our time in Artume meant my skin might always feel like it was covered in a fine powder.
Another part of me thought perhaps it would help me to see and bend the air more easily should I need to exercise my abilities.
I wrung out my hair as best I could and patted it dry with some thick cloth.
Then I braided it into a crown around my head, keeping it off my skin entirely.
I left a few strands down and loosened my braids enough to hide the scar behind my ear.
I didn’t want to draw attention to it, but I also knew anyone wearing their hair down in weather like this would stand out.
I put on my uniform—if it could be classified as such.
It felt more akin to lingerie, only covering my most salacious areas.
I left the dirty clothes we arrived in on the floor in a pile.
I hoped Saryn would wash them for us before we returned, but knowing him, they would probably never be seen again.
When I came back into the living area, Nori was seated at the large table in the middle of the room, nibbling on an orange.
She turned to face me and handed one over.
Couldn’t it have been any other fruit? Flashbacks of Varro sparked through my mind.
Him squeezing the citrus all across my flesh then lapping it up.
His sensuous reminder of how he devoured me…
I began to peel the orange, trying to put him from my mind and focus on the task ahead.
If I let these distractions consume me, I’d miss him even more and we hadn’t yet been parted a day.
“Nori, you will wait here while I handle delivering Cress. Do not leave, do not stand in the street, do not even look out the windows. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Nori said in quiet subservience.
“Before you leave, you’re each going to look out the back door and the front window.
You will then walk slowly through the first floor of this house.
Take in your surroundings and make note of the most minute details.
Commit them to your memory. You must be able to remember this place clearly, no matter how new or strange this environment is to you.
If you are to make your way back here using the portal stones, you must know this place like the back of your hand. ”
The ask seemed simple, yet it was loaded with pressure.
Using our moonstones to return to the safehouse would be the fastest way back here, but would I be able to do it?
How far would we have to portal; how much energy would we need to expel to do it successfully?
Nori and I had been here less than an hour.
The place was so plain that there were hardly any notable details to remember.
I began to follow Nori at a measured pace around the first floor of the small building.
I committed the shape and approximate size of the living room and kitchen to memory.
I noted the dusty round rug laying in front of the hearth, covered with intricate patterns unlike any we displayed on northern tapestries.
I breathed in deeply, noting how the fragrant remnants of pipe smoke clung to the few pieces of furniture, likely from its previous tenant.
The floor did not creak or groan. The wooden beams were embedded deep into the dry mud below them. There were no pictures hanging about the space, only the endless texture of clay walls; a monotonous sea of indistinguishable swirls.
Nori and I stood side by side in silence, staring out the back door of the modest home.
There was an abandoned alleyway with what appeared to be a few run-down homes or shops, but their exteriors were scorched black, having clearly suffered some sort of irreparable and catastrophic fire.
There were broken clay pots strewn about the street, and nothing but silence—not a person in sight.
With the lack of surrounding commerce, this dwelling was probably acquired at a sizeable discount and provided suitable refuge from onlookers or prying eyes.
The implications had Imperi written all over it.
I had to remind myself that nothing was ever coincidence…
not when we were involved. Saryn and Theory could only hope that one day we all aspired to that level of planning and espionage.
Killing a ship worker for their silver arm band, burning down a neighborhood for privacy—these were all calculated and meticulous decisions by a ruthless Order that had existed far longer than I could imagine.
I breathed in the scent of the alleyway through the window, committing to memory the smell of ash and burnt thatch when I heard Saryn say, “It’s time.”