With that, the wizard ran up the stairs, leaving a trail of blood in his path.
For some reason, Aidan didn't doubt his words.
"You're an idiot," Aaliyah said, turning to face Aidan. "You nearly got yourself killed."
Aidan sat up, slowly, cradling his wrist. It was definitely broken. "What was I supposed to do, walk to the isle?" he asked.
Aaliyah's eyes became cold again. "Oh, I forgot, you need the money in that bag over there."
Great, Aidan thought, it's good to know the old Aaliyah is back.
The amogh grabbed her things from the table and ran to Aidan. "We're going to have to wait ‘till we get back to the room to fix your wrist. You did get a room, didn't you?"
Aidan nodded. "It's on the main road, but I don't know how to get there. Right by the gates."
Aaliyah rolled her eyes. "We'd better leave soon then, because the moment that wizard tells the amoghs where we are, they'll search every inch of this city until they find us. And they'll start on the biggest street. Can you walk?"
Aidan nodded again, though walking was the last thing he wanted to do. He silently swore to himself that he would never use the Morka spell on another living creature again.
Aaliyah grabbed one of the wizard's cloaks and threw the hood over her head before they left the house. As soon as they were outside, Aaliyah began walking so quickly that Aidan had to trot just to keep up with her, though every step jarred his quickly swelling wrist. The only time the girl's pace slackened was when they came to a large wagon carrying a cage. And inside were four shirtless young men.
Aidan immediately recognized them as slaves. Slavery was allowed in Gurvinite as an alternative to other punishments. If a criminal didn't want to be whipped, branded, or hanged, then he would often appeal to become a slave. Most people thought the idea was quite brilliant, it kept the men out of trouble, but they were still allowed to live unharmed.
But Aaliyah didn't seem to feel the same way. Aidan saw her hand clench around her dagger.
"What's wrong?" Aidan asked, "They're only criminals."
Aaliyah didn't turn her head. "Much as you would believe that lie that the council has told you, I can promise that all of them are not. If we had the time then I would insist that we free them." Slowly, her hand loosened its grip on the knife. "But we don't."
With that, she began walking again, leaving the mage scrambling after her. The sun was well over the horizon by the time they stepped into the inn, though only one old man occupied a seat. Aidan knew the room wouldn't fill until the last rays of sunshine were disappearing in the western sky.
They ran up the stairs as quickly as Aidan's wrist would allow and began slamming their fists on the door. It was opened by a sleepy-eyed Timothy.
"Oh. You brought the amogh."
Aaliyah never even stepped into the room. "Here's the money, I'm going to go find a griffin merchant, I'll come back when I've picked the right steed. Timothy, fix your friend's hand." Then she was gone, before either of the mages could protest.
"What did you do to your hand?" Timothy asked, picking up his staff from beside the bed.
"You don't want to know," Aidan replied, sitting down.
Timothy pointed his staff's tip at Aidan's hand. "Saneo."
Nothing happened. Timothy's forehead creased as he spoke the word again. "Saneo!"
Aidan started to feel uneasy. He would fix it himself, but he knew that a sorcerer couldn't heal more than a small scratch on his own body. If Aidan tried to heal his wrist, he would be more likely to end up with two broken wrists than one good one.
"I can feel the magic in me, but it's as if something's blocking it," Timothy said, "I don't know what's wrong with me, but I think … I think I'm outta magic."
There are three classes of griffin, class one, two, and three respectively. Class one griffins are made to be scouts, faster than either of the others but only capable of carrying one person, if any. Class two griffins can carry between two and three people, and class three griffins, or cargo griffins, can hold up to eight people.
Aaliyah was looking for a heavyweight class two griffin, which were in high demand in Argentah. With a creature capable of carrying that weight, a man could fly with a small amount of cargo from coast to coast in a few days. They were often used to transport precious jewels or other expensive items. So it was disappointing but expected when Aaliyah couldn't find the right griffin within her price range. There was a class two lightweight, capable of carrying two people, but he was so untamed that Aaliyah would only buy him if there were no other options. She would have to convince Aidan to make Timothy stay behind, which wouldn't be easy, but they were running out of time. Aside from the assassins who were undoubtedly searching the city, the girl was starting to feel the first pains in her gut. She knew the poison worked slowly, but it would, with time, kill her if she didn't receive help. She was hoping Master Bartemus would have a cure, but she had to get to him first.
Finally, just as the sun was beginning to set, the girl headed back to the inn.
As soon as Aidan opened the door, his arm in a makeshift sling, a wave of pain came from her stomach. She gritted her teeth and stepped inside, where Timothy was counting the money.
"We should have thirty gold coins," Aaliyah said, leaning against the edge of the bed.
"I thought so too," Timothy said, his voice tense, "But we only have eighteen, now. Tell me, amogh, who could have done that?"
Aaliyah tensed. "If you're suggesting that I took the money, then you're more possessed than I thought."
"That's what I thought too," Aidan said, "But then I realized that a slave costs three gold coins apiece. There were four slaves in the cart today, and you were the only one with the money bag. You claim the amoghs took nothing else from you when you were captured, and your Rakka steel knives would be worth far more to them than money. So if you took the coins, I need to know."
Aaliyah felt flames raise up in her stomach. These sorcerers, who had uprooted her from her home and used her as nothing more than a nanny, were now accusing her of being a thief.
Typical sorcerers. I never should have trusted the boy.
"I'm not a thief," Aaliyah said. "Aidan, look into my eyes and tell me if I'm lying." The mage stared hard for a few seconds. "Remember, you made a promise."
"No Timothy, she isn't." Aidan said, bowing his head. "I don't know where the money is, but I don't believe she has it."
Timothy was silent for a few seconds. Then, without a word, he stood, grabbed his pack, and headed for the door. A moment before he reached it he stopped and turned around.
"Aidan, you've known me since before you were a mage. I was the one who took you in when you were a lost, confused, and fatherless peasant. You can choose to stay with this … sorry excuse of a girl, or you can come with me. But your choice is final. So what's it going to be?"
Aidan's fears were becoming reality. Timothy was leaving, they had no way to get to the isle, and they were being hunted by trained assassins impervious to magic. There was something wrong with Aaliyah, who definitely hated him again, and his own magic was too untrained to be of any real worth. On top of all of that, Aidan still didn't know what his master possibly needed him for.
His green eyes swept from Aaliyah to Timothy and back again. If he stayed with Aaliyah, then he would have to leave Timothy unprotected and vulnerable to the goblin and possibly amoghs, but if he left with Timothy then he would have to abandon his quest and disobey a direct order, possibly abandoning all of Gurvinite to a bloody war.
Aidan stood and was about to follow Timothy when the crystal fell out of his robe.
Wherever Bartemus is, he's giving up everything to make sure others can live. If I want to be worthy of the ring I wear, then I'm going to have to let him go.
Aidan closed his eyes. "I'm staying, Timothy. You don't have to leave, but this is too important to abandon now."
The younger mage pursed his lips and turned around, slamming the door behind him.
Timothy was gone.
The three assassins stood on the wall, watching the inn. They had been waiting for nightfall, when fewer questions would be asked if someone disappeared. But now one of the mages was leaving the city.
"I can follow him, though I doubt he is the Guardian," one of the men said.