Tale of Four

Thinking about what Seth said, Isis looked at him and smiled, ”If he didn’t teach you everything, then how about we go on an adventure whilst we head to Verat.” Lifting an eyebrow, Seth was obviously intrigued. ”As I wish to see Oros, it means we must travel. As we travel, why don’t we also look for things your teacher may have left behind?” Seth contemplated the idea for a moment, his smile growing more gentle as he did.

”Sure, but the issue is most of it will likely be in Veston.”

”He was a native there,” Isis asked, getting a shake of the head from Seth.

”He was Lunarian.” Shooting a questioning look at Seth, he smiled, ”Far west in Oros, further than Verat.”

”And he somehow ended up in the Mad House?”

”Do you know the saying for how to get in?” Isis shook her head, ”Either you are a Magi, lucky, or invited. My teacher was the second one when he first joined. It was how he went from the other side of the world to Veston. The Mad House is truly a magical thing.”

”He must have been lonely,” Isis said, thinking about the situation, and looked to the ground. Seth smiled and rested a hand on her head, playfully messing up her hair.

”Don’t pity him. He said it was the greatest mistake of his life. He eventually went home after years away, but it never felt like home again to him.” Isis smiled and looked at the road ahead.

”How should we start our adventure?” Seth fell silent for a minute and rubbed his beard.

”Two choices. Slavers Road, or the Triangle Cities,” Isis thought for a moment and looked at the path they walked.

”Slavers Road. I’ve never seen a place where slavery is ingrained in society. It would be interesting.” Her words made him laugh, and looking at Seth, he smiled, but it never reached his eyes.

”You have.” Looked around the city, he smiled, ”Tiree just hides it very well. After all, it would make trading with Veston much harder if it were open.” Isis’s eyes widened as she looked around the beautiful city. Staring at the people, the stores and even homes, she couldn’t see any signs of what Seth spoke about. His chuckle came from behind her, and turning around, he saw him pointing down.

”A slave cannot be outside during the day. Either their master keep them indoors, or those owned by the city itself are kept underground.” With a shrug, he carried on walking, ”We are literally walking on the backs of slaves; it’s quite funny how they did that.”

”You wouldn’t notice,” Isis said, her voice was neither sad nor angry. Strangely, she felt disappointed more than anything. After seeing the city, speaking to Tyrak, eating its food and learning a little about it, she couldn’t help but be disappointed that it still had such a practise. Shaking her head, she looked at it again.

’It doesn’t make the buildings any less beautiful. Even if they were built by slaves, it only means they deserve the credit for this, no one else.’ Isis rested a hand on the side of a building, feeling the vines engulf her fingers, ’A shame.’

Once again, she felt a hand on her head, ”If you’re going to be melancholy about learning slavery is here, then I suggest you give up on Slavers Road; in fact, I hope you do. Danmor is one of the worst places I have ever seen.”

”No. We’re going.” With a smile and nod, Seth carried on.

”Fine. It is one of the most depressing places on the planet for the record.” Isis quickly followed behind as Seth droned on about his experiences, his smile falling, a deep chill forming behind his eyes, ”Believe it or not, I’ve been to that pirate island, and even there, where you can hear the screams of men and women in the background, begging to be free, it is better.”

”My escort told me about that place. I want to go one day.” Seth shot Isis a weird look before chuckling.

”You are a terribly strange lady, Isis. Why you wish to see all these horrid places is beyond me.” Seth said without any mocking, instead finding her more interesting.

”What was it you said. There’s comedy in tragedy. For me, their beauty is in sadness.”

”There is no beauty in these places. Cras, for example, is just the empty faces of men and women who don’t even get names but are numbers.” Seth bitterly said, ”It’s cruelty for cruelty’s sake, no reason for it to exist. My teacher did things you would consider horrible, inhumane even, but everything he did, he did for a reason. He didn’t revel in it, nor find pleasure. It was all for a purpose.” Sighing, he looked up, ”He was right about the Gods. They are all fake and meaningless. It is why he would have been a terrible one if he didn’t fail. He would have been just as dismissive about these horrors in the world.”

Isis looked at Seth, ”I can’t understand you. You obviously love your teacher, but for every good thing you say, you have an equally bad thing to.”

”It’s because I love him that I do. If I ignored all that was bad about him, then it wouldn’t be love but worship.” Isis nodded. Carrying the two, they silently walked, making their way through Tiree slowly, enjoying the sights, watching everything until they reached the wall that surrounded the port city. Along it, numerous carriages waited, either having their cagro checked or trying to call out to customers from whom they could take a gold coin in return for a ride.

Seth scanned them all before finding one he knew would go to Danmor and approached with outstretched arms. ”Brother.” Speaking in a language Isis didn’t understand, he carried on, ”Would you let us join you?” The fat merchant scanned Seth before looking at Isis up and down, his gaze not seeing her as a person but as an item to be sold. Seth stepped in front and shook his head. Resting a hand on his chest, he smiled, ”Do not insult my companion like that, please.”

”Veston?” Isis’s ears perked up, hearing the name of her homeland. Seth nodded, making the fat merchant laugh, ”Even those self-righteous bastards can’t resist.” His gaze changed, looking at Isis, treating her as a customer rather than a product. ”Sure. You know the prices.”

Seth nodded and reached into his bag, pulling out a sack of coins. Throwing it over the merchant, he looked inside, seeing they were correct, and bounced them up and down, nodding. Lifting a hand, he showed four fingers. Turning around, Seth smiled at her. ”Four hours and then we can leave.”

”Okay. In the meantime.” Looking at the fat Lord, she realised her biggest problem: ”Can you teach me to speak another language?”

”Okay, but it isn’t soemthing simple.”

”I should be fine. Veston doesn’t have a single tongue, even though they share a common language, and I learned a few of them. It wouldn’t be my first time.” Seth smiled and nodded. Climbing into the back of the carriage, he pulled a book from his bag and opened it, tracing his finger along the pages, saying the words and their translations for her, slowly teaching.