The Serpent's Orb by Guy Antibes

Author:Guy Antibes
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Publisher: CasiePress LLC
Published: 2019-04-20T21:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

~

R eoja looked quite different than Dorkansee. The capital of Lajia surrounded a large bay. The docks were located on the south side of the city and extended into the bay. A breakwater of huge rocks protected the harbor’s entrance. The city looked different. The architecture was less severe, if that was the right word. Jack liked the feel of the place; it didn’t intimidate him like Dorkansee had.

The ship bumped into port. Jack and his friends carried all their possessions off the ship and dragged their things to the stable that the captain had pointed out. The patriarch had remained on the ship. He had brought significantly more baggage and would have to hire a cart now that he was down two assistants. The captain had also recommended an inn on the north side of the city, which he said was nicer than the rougher south.

Jack appreciated the advice after experiencing the Third Ring at Dorkansee. The horses were cheaper than they expected, and they rode to their inn. The patriarch would meet them later. He had told them he wouldn’t be staying in the same place. Somehow that added to Jack’s increasing feeling that something was wrong about the man.

Reoja had a different style than what Jack was used to. He made a few sketches in a notebook for his father; although, he didn’t think his father would like the roundness of Reojan furniture nor the flourishes that abounded on the buildings and made their way to decorations on the chairs, tables, and dressers in his bedroom.

The common room smelled different, likely a result of the difference in the cuisine. Jack looked over at the food eaten on the next table to see everything smothered in sauces, mostly red. The patrons were drinking wine rather than ale. Everything was so different, and constantly reminded him that he was in a foreign country. Even the language sounded different in the Lajian accent.

“So what are we going to do about the patriarch?” Helen asked. “I don’t trust him.”

“Nor I,” Quist said. “His claim to be a powerful wizard is indeed a valid one, but when we talked to him aboard the ship, it seemed that he had cast off his ecclesiastical robes. I never saw him wear his horned cap once after his two aides were murdered. He also seemed a bit anxious about Jack’s sword. I am uneasy around him, but it might be because he is the patriarch of Alderach.”

“I can’t argue with things not adding up. If he was adept in Fourth Manipulations, he could have contacted an aide in Reoja, or some other Lajian port, and arranged to have pirates attack. The whole battle was bizarre,” Tanner said.

“Fourth Manipulations are forbidden,” Helen said. “If you are right, and I’m not saying you aren’t, then we bring him with us at our peril.”

Tanner looked at Jack. “Where is the orb?”

After pulling the cube out, Jack pointed south, or at least that was where he felt south was.

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