Oracle Chapter 3 Beginning

This is the next chapter n teh Oracle story. So far there have been no comments, but I am sure that somewhere, there can be some. This is the next part of the story of Oracle. Mind you that this "Oracle" that I am using for a title to this story has nothign to do with the previous posting of a prolouge. That was simply somethign else all together and had nothing to do with this one. I also decided that I would go back to Luc. In this third chapter. If you have missed the beginings of other Chapters, I have realized that I should place them in there. So:

Chapter 1
Chapter 2

III: Luc

RIGHT after they had left, Luc waited at the table with the money and as the wench came by again, he motioned to the money on the table. “They’re for you. I just stayed to make sure you got them.” The wench smiled as she picked them off the table. Luc fished into one of his sleeves and pulled out a crown. “This is so that we were never here…” The girl’s eyes widened at the gold piece and then she nodded real solemnly and said, “Who the hell are you anyway? I’ve never heard of anyone by your description before in my life!”

Luc nodded and then placed another one on the table with the one he held. “Good girl,” he replied. The girl smiled again and scooped the two coins on the table.

“The name is Anyankis, Ana for short. I’ll be here if you need anything. You can go to Landris’; I’m his cousin. Mention my name and he’ll set you up. He owns the local Chandlery.” The hood turned in her direction.

“How did you know that I was intending to leave?”

The girl remained smiling and then said, “I can see that you just have that look about you. Plus, the two crowns all themselves are a big enough hint. Any who treat me nice also gets treated nice.” She then put a hand on the table and spoke in a low tone. “The guards have been getting a little edgy lately too. If you need horses, then I suggest that you go to Ildia’s. She has the best ones.”

“You’re just a bundle of help today aren’t you?”

“I know. Also, say hello to your big friend for me.” With that, Anyankis quickly explained where the chandlery was, winked and smiled, and left off to go serve another table. Luc smiled to himself under his cowl and then spoke in a soft tone to himself. “There it goes again…” He stood up and then began to leave just as someone walked into the tavern. They were dressed in the local guard’s blues and had the sigil of the sun across their chest. A broad sword was laced to his belt. He waked in and Luc sat right back down again. Thank god he was sitting close to the door. As the man walked in, he didn’t bother to shut the door.

As cold air seeped into the tavern, the man looked around and then stepped into the tavern. Luc slowly edged around his table to reach the door. The man, who had stepped into the middle of the room narrowed his eyes and then spoke.

“I’m looking for someone. He’s got shock white hair. He is wanted for treasonous acts.” Luc cursed under his breath. The entire tavern looked at the man silently. Luc saw Anyankis motioning with her eyes to the door. He saw the look on her face and then realized that she was telling him to go. He nodded his thanks and then swept out the door behind the man’s back. The last thing that he heard was the man’s voice:

“There is a reward for his capture if he is alive…”

Luc cursed again as he hurried down the street. It was terribly cold, and so he wrapped himself up tighter in his cloak. If he wasn’t careful, he might freeze. He did like it when it was cold, just not this cold. However, he had better things to do than to worry about the temperature. Like the girl said, he had to go out of the city and he did have to go to those places that she had mentioned. He hoped that they wouldn’t ask too many questions.

As he wandered down the street, he passed many other taverns in which there were also blue dressed guards. “I don’t know what it is you have gotten yourself into Jerrak,” he muttered to himself, “but it better have been worth it.” As he continued to walk down the street, the wind blew straight at him, threatening to blow off his cowl. He quickly grabbed the top of it and pulled it down as if to secure it. As he did so, he was apt enough to see the three guards that were walking down the street. He quickly turned down the first alleyway that he saw, his cloak swishing after him. He thanked the Gods that his cloak was dark enough to blend into the shadows of the night.

He stood there waiting to see if they had seen him, thinking that he might be Jerrak, but thankfully, no cry was given up. He waited holding his breath until the guards passed by. As soon as they did, he let go of the breath he was holding in a ragged cough. ‘Too much cold air,’ he thought glumly. As he peeked out of the alleyway, he looked around for signs of the city guards. There were none to be seen in sight, so he quickly hurried on towards the Merchant Street.

As soon as he got there, he was forced to hide again. Another set of guards was looking around the front end and another set was looking around the back end. As Luc cursed his luck, he wished that things would go smoother for him. As one set of guards passed his alleyway hiding spot, he mashed himself against the wall so as not to be seen, and stepped in something icy and slimy. He suppressed a shudder and an instant groan of unhappiness and as soon as the guards had passed, looked out of the alleyway to the other side.

Holding his cowl so that it covered his face, he looked for the other two guards. Not seeing them, he quickly looked for the sign of the chandlery Anyankis had mentioned to him. He suddenly saw the sign of a barrel and a pair of boots. Below it, painted in dull red letters was the name ‘Landris’.

He smiled at his luck and then ducked back into the darkness as the two guards that had passed him earlier came walking back up the street. After a moment, they passed and continued to walk up the street.

Thankfully, Landris’ was only a few doors ahead. He watched around the corner as the guards walked past it and then slowly crept up the street behind them. As he tiptoed behind them, he was forced to hide behind a barrel because one of them turned around to pick up a set of dice he had dropped. He thanked the Gods that the barrel had been there in the first place, yet he cursed the guard for his clumsiness.

As he walked up to the chandlery, the guards continued to walk forward. As he lifted a hand to the doorknob, the guards stopped.

“Did you hear something?”

“No. I didn’t hear anything.”

“What do you suppose it’s a rat?”

“I don’t think that it’s anything and I think that it’s your imagination running away with you…”

Luc nodded in agreement with the guard. ‘That’s right, it’s not a rat, it’s a person you ninny!’ He tried to turn the doorknob and found that it wouldn’t budge. Hissing in frustration, he tried to shake it a bit.

“Hey, wait, I heard it too… I don’t think it’s a rat though.” Both of the guards had stopped a ways up the street. Luc growled in frustration. ‘Give that man a prize,’ he thought sarcastically. He suddenly began to panic. He was about to lift a hand to bang on the door, when the knob turned in his hand and the door swung open without a hitch. He fell forwards into the arms of a middle-aged man, who promptly dragged him inside the shop and closed the door behind him, all without so much as a single sound.

At the moment that the door snapped shut, the guards turned around. The first guard, who had not heard anything at all at first, smacked the other one in the back of the head. “See? Not even a rat!” The second one rubbed his head and then spoke a curse. “You never know!” It was all he managed to sputter before the other guard smacked him on the head again.

As Luc and the man, who were now inside the store listened, they heard another man’s voice.

“We think we have a live one! Come on! She’s back at the station.”

They heard the rustle of feet and then both were off. Luc let out an exasperated sigh. He turned around to face the man in the darkness of the shop. The man had a mess of black hair and had deep brown eyes. He smiled in the darkness.