CHAPTER X #2
Homes have been built into the mountain on either side of us with various rooms and windows sticking out of the stone.
Their walls are alight with thousands of crystal lanterns, while hundreds of twisting staircases weave between them.
Each step connects a different building until they all start to meld together as a city might, the rocky residences stacking on top of eachother and angling high towards the mountain peak with no end in sight.
There has to be enough residences for a couple thousand people, roughly the size of one of our smaller cities in Knowledge, and indeed the patrons of this city are scattered across the mountain walls, either chatting in their homes or taking the numerous stairs to visit different buildings.
Clair smiles and walks towards the city carved into the mountain, the path at our feet now expanding into a wide road between the two cavernous walls that host the homes.
It’s then that I realize we’re standing in the middle of a gorge, with the road at our front large enough to allow for horses and carts to pass by.
Vendors and shops rest along the road below the homes, their businesses providing a cozy ambiance of warmth at ground level that’s even complete with little courtyards.
I stare in awe at the full expanse of everything around us, my brows lifting at the hundreds of travelers who’re walking around as if they were in a normal town.
“The rumors are true,” Keane notes as he moves to stand next to me.
I nod in agreement.
It seems the Pyrenese do indeed hide full cities within their mountains.
“It’s no Hidden City,” I look up at him, “but it does have a certain bravado to it, doesn’t it?”
“It’s nothing close to our Hidden City,” he smiles proudly, “but yes, this is certainly magnificent.”
“I’m assuming you haven’t taken this route before?” I ask as we catch up to the group. The Prince and Princess purchase something from a vendor up ahead, Clair pointing back at us and counting the full our party.
“I haven’t,” Keane affirms, “we’re inside the mountain, so this is all as new to me as it is to you. The last time I saw the library was from the town below the fortress. We rode past the entrance from outside.”
Ancients.
This library might be the biggest I’ve come across.
The thought makes me frown just as Holis turns and passes three mugs filled with a brown drink to Cal, Keane and I.
“It’s warm,” I hold the mug in curiosity.
“Spiced brown ale,” Princess Clair walks over to us with a grin, “heated to greet the morning chill.”
I can’t help but smile at her enthusiasm and take a hefty sip of the ale.
It’s a delicious blend of warmth and spice that tastes of apples, truly perfect for the morning chill as she mentioned.
I take another drink and catch Cal’s eyes in the process, the two of us nodding over our mugs and enjoying the drink immensely.
“It’s delicious,” I smile at Clair.
The Princess’ grin goes wide.
“I would have never thought to heat the drink but the sensation is amazing. Perfect for the morning.”
“It is,” she smiles as Prince McQuoid passes a few small plates around the group. Each of them host a fluffy slice of bread with berries on top.
“Berry bread,” Clair smiles at her husband, taking a bite. We all follow suit and try the new food that tastes of sweet sugar, walnuts, and berries.
The Prince and Princess lead us farther down the road after we’ve all had our breakfast, both of them occasionally stopping to greet the people of the city at different intervals.
Clair’s friendliness extends to nearly everyone she meets, while McQuoid stands regal at her side and looks on with a reserved smile.
Naturally, I linger in front of the shops and stores as long as I can to take in everything around me.
I watch the people of Pyre enjoying their lifestyle within the mountain and marvel at how they interact with such warmth and life despite the major lack of natural sunlight. It’s fascinating, but it’s not for me.
At one point a man without flames steps out of the door of his shop. He walks through the small courtyard and squats to the ground with a smile, extending his hand to a young girl with curly red hair before he drops a pouch in her palm.
“Is this what I think it is?” she flings her hands around his neck, “thank you, Papa!”
I watch the exchange with a curious smile, wondering what could possibly be in the pouch that makes the girl so happy. She releases her father from the hug and upends the bag onto the ground, the sight of small red and grey balls rolling across the ground making her squeal in excitement.
Marbles.
I immediately look at the sign above the man’s store with a grin. It’s a toy shop. I quickly push through the courtyard gate and walk towards the entrance, smiling when the man notices me and rushes to open the front door.
“Lady,” he bows me inside.
“Thank you. I saw you with your daughter in the courtyard. I’m actually looking for a new marble set. Might you have any extra?”
He beams and looks over my shoulder before replying, “of course!”
I follow the man to the back of his shop and peer into the glass container filled with smaller toys.
At the far end of the display sits three different sets of marbles, each of them hosting different colors and swirls within.
I smile, wanting to get Willem a set that is unlike anything he can find in Disce, and settle on a vibrant red and maroon ensemble with the main playing marble a sparkling crystal that matches the gems of the city.
The man smiles and bags them in a small pouch, announcing that it’ll cost three pyes. I look back at him frantically, completely forgetting that I’d need to exchange my cinerin here.
I’m about to barter with my foreign coin when a tanned hand snakes around me and drops three pyes on the counter.
I look back at Keane in surprise.
Did he follow me in here?
Keane juts his chin back to the man with a grin. I turn to the counter and take the deep maroon pouch he’s handing me, thanking him again before walking back towards the entrance.
“Thank you,” I smile to the Prince.
“Do you play?” Keane asks, holding open the door.
“No,” I shake my head with a small blush, “they’re for Willem.”
“Yara’s Willem?” he smirks.
“Yes,” I duck my head, spotting Holis and Mana farther along the main road, “they’re my ‘I’m sorry’ gift.”
Keane leans down to my side with a playful smirk. “You mean an, I’m sorry for manipulating a ten-year-old, gift?”
“Yes,” I shove my shoulder into his as he chuckles, “that one.”
I drop the velvet pouch in my bag and grab three cinerin, holding my hand out to the Prince as we head back to our group.
“I don’t know the difference between cinerin and pyes, but thank you for covering me.”
Keane’s brows furrow at the gesture, his eyes looking at me as if I’m a foreign being. He looks at the gold coins in my hand and then back at my face, as if he doesn’t understand the offer of returning a payment.
I give him a chuckle of my own and sneak my hand under his tunic to the pocket lining his hip, dropping the coins inside.
“It’s called returning the debt, Your Highness,” I grin, nearly wanting to laugh, “and while I’ll never turn down a few free drinks from you, I cannot allow you to pay for this gift.”
Keane stands tall in the road, his eyes following my hand that’s leaving his pocket as a new smirk graces his lips. I roll my eyes and step back in line with our group, feeling a small pinch against my rear that has me both biting my lip and shaking my head.
We continue through the city for some time until we reach a building carved into the mountain that so obviously doesn’t belong with the rest of the homes and shops.
Massive pillars dart strong into the rock just like the throne room, twelve blocks in total that tower above a wide set of stairs and lead to a dark entrance farther beyond.
My step falters when I see the massive building, recognizing the new structure as what has to be the back entrance of the library.
I take a deep breath and catch both Keane and Cal crowding my sides, the two men coming to stand next to me at the bottom of the steps as Clair and Alba begin to walk up to the top.
Prince McQuoid, Holis and Mana remain with us at the bottom, the three men looking at me to follow behind the Princess.
My next breath is fueled by Cal and Keane’s reassuring glances. I take those looks and step onto the first stair with both men following at my left and right, the three of us steadily moving towards the library in quiet silence.
About halfway up I turn back to look at the road, spotting Holis as he gives me a small smile and nods me forward. I smile back at him before eyeing the massive staircase in front of me, continuing with the steps that seem to last a lifetime until we eventually meet the Princess at the top.
“Come, Alexis,” she smiles and reaches down to pat Alba’s neck, “we’ll show you around.”
I’m grateful for her easy comment and follow behind the Princess, leaving the two men behind.
So far the back entrance of Red Falls’ library has been endless.
We’ve been walking for a while, our feet echoing off the cold walls as the small torches barely provide any guidance.
Clair obviously knows where she’s going, but I make sure to keep an eye on Alba’s vibrant white fur as we move deeper inside.
“Almost there,” the Princess turns, almost as if reading my thoughts.
I nod and squint at a small ball of silver light moving towards us from the far end of the entrance, the shimmer bobbing left and right as if swinging with a nonexistent wind. An old woman appears behind that light with a crystal lantern held in her hand.