Upon entering the tavern , Jafet drew out a chair and called onto the attendant. When the attendant arrived, he said, "We are new here, so can you give us a recommendation, maybe your best dish?
" Yes , my lord, we serve the best dish in town. She bowed, ready to leave, when Serena stopped her. " Get me the menu of your signature dishes. I want to check it myself,"
" As if she will know anything," Jafet said with a snort.
" My lord?" I thought about the strange way the attendant addressed him.
"And why did she call you that?" I asked when the attendant came to our table, this time holding a serving tray with a strange drink arranged on it. He shrugged.
Please try this while waiting for the main dish to be served. She said, putting a glass in front of us. "What drink is it?" Kevin asked, taking a sip
" it called frost nectar, sir,"
" And why is he lord, and Kevin, sir? Serena asked the attendant. The woman turned, looking at Jafet as if asking whether she could speak or not.
" How would I know that?" he raised his shoulders and smiled cheekily. " Maybe I do have the demeanor of a lord."
" Tsk... you look nothing like that, don't deceive yourself," Kevin said.
The attendant scrambled from our table and came back to serve various dishes that were unknown to us.
She started explaining them. " This is wyvern steak marinated in moonlight herbs, and this is, she pointed at the next dish, the crystal root stew with seasoned fish from the meridian sea, garnished with parsley leaves.
"
" Hmm .... just the aroma is making my mouth water. " Jafet smiled, picking up the served chopsticks, as he proceeded to stuff the food into his mouth like a hungry wolf. Nodding his head, he said, " This is what I was talking about." Closing his eyes, he savored the steak as if it were the tastiest meal he had ever had.
He looked up from his plate after clearing half of the meal and said, " Why are you just staring and not eating?" He huffed and continued eating. He brought a cut steak near Serena's lips. " Try it, the meat is tender, and it melts in your mouth with its addictive flavor. "
Serena's eyes widened when she chewed on it. She covered her mouth and said, " it really yummy, dive in guys." We all followed suit and picked our chopsticks one after the other. We kept eating till our bellies became bloated.
Serena slumped onto the table lazily. " I will kill to come here just for this meal."
"We can rest at the inn overlooking the city and proceed to the palace by daybreak."
" And why would you go to the palace. "Jafet asked.
" To get answers, of course, we traveled this far for the purpose.
" Answers about what? I looked at him for some time deciding whether to tell him or not.
" Hmmm... raising my sleeves, I showed him the mark on my forearm.
" he looked at it intensely and traced the edges with his finger. Spark of flame flew off, burning a small spot on his fingertips before the wound closed up.
We all look at him, and Kevin said, " Why did it react to him it never does that when we touch it."
" That is because he is not an average human," I said, straightening my sleeves.
"Will you tell us who you really are and the reason why you followed us?"
He scratched the back of his neck. " You this sly prince, I knew you would suspect me . All I can tell you is that Captain Nephron asked me to accompany you guys , I have no ulterior intention.
He waved his hands, flashing us a nervous smile. "We can tell that much, or else you wouldn't have been allowed to come with us." I said
As we continued walking down the street, Kevin approached me and asked. " Who is Nephron?
"She is the warrior I met on the night the rift appeared, she said she was the protector or something. "
"And you didn't deem it necessary to tell us?" He asked with a frown on his face.
"It slipped my mind, anyway you know now." I flashed him a wide smile and entered the inn.
...
As the chilly breeze of the night blew, Iael could be seen standing on the tallest building of the city, several miles away from the inn where they were staying. He scanned the city brimming with life. Focusing on one particular spot, he realized that he couldn't see what exactly was there as if something was blocking his view.
"Hmmm..... some kind of concealment technique or should I say magic, that I don't know anything about .... this place sure is interesting. He said with a huge smile on his face.
" Your Highness, " a voice sounded behind him.
He turned and saw his knight. "Enough of the titles, Kevin."
" I want to go there," I said and pointed towards the little fountain at the edge of the town.
" I don't see anything special there," he said.
" There is something at that spot , you just can't see it . It feels like something or someone is blocking it from being seen.
" So why do you want to go there?" He asked
" To know the reason why it has been concealed, I like interesting things .
I took a step in the air, and soon gravity began its work. Dragging me down with the wind rushing behind my ears. I somersaulted in the air and kicked a building wall disappearing from view with Kevin.
" You can't let anything you notice go, can you?" I heard the rift voice in my head. This is the second time it has talked to me.
"You are finally talking again," I snickered. Since you are here, tell me about the place.
" Why should I?" He questioned
" And why shouldn't you ?" I retorted.
" You this rude brat, can you not ask nicely?
"It is the tower of the terpers. A place where mages, sorcerers, and even witches are trained. It is basically a training institute for youngsters to hone their skills."