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Chapter 10: Sharak'Thal

It only took the trio a couple more hours to reach the massive gates of the capitol city. The sheer size of everything was awe inspiring even to Korek who had been there before. The city was surrounded by an enormous stone wall that loomed over then as they approached. The gate was guarded by nearly twenty fully armed guards and sentries constantly paced the ramparts sixty feet above their heads. The massive gate was easily wide enough for thirty people to walk through it abreast. The Portcullis was raised and its spiked bottom loomed ominously overhead as they walked past the guards and underneath it. The wall itself was at least fifty feet thick and so well constructed that the seams between the massive stone blocks were nearly impossible to see.

They passed through the gateway and entered the city with wonder in their eyes. The city was circular and stretched nearly three leagues in diameter. The city was structured like a massive fortress even before the massive citadel that was at its center started. The houses closest to the outer wall were uniformly one story tall and the buildings got gradually taller as they got closer to the center of the city. The inner city was guarded within the inner wall of the citadel and was for the moment out of their sight.

The citadel was truly the most awe inspiring thing in the nation. Nearly a league in diameter and its tallest tower reached out to the heavens and Korek told them that he had read that it was over five hundred feet tall. To this Tian'shal sputtered in disbelief. "You can't be serious Korek." She said. As she looked up at it though, she had to admit that it did look it. The Citadel was tiered just like the rest of the city and was constructed with a series of consecutive walls. Each tier was consecutively taller and the citadel rose out of the plain like a feline-made mountain.

For a while the trio simply wandered around the city, taking in the sights while the day was still relatively young. The streets were filled with a multitude of people from all over the nation. Travelers and merchants were in great abundance. Every so often a group of soldiers would walk by as they watched the crowds. They were often greeted with pleasant smiles and greetings and they returned these in kind.

As they wandered around the city, Sar'Kal began to notice people here and there staring at him. It got to be so bad that he finally stopped and said to Tian'shal and Korek, "We should find a place to stay for the night. Somewhere inconspicuous where we wont draw attention." Even as he said it however he thought it sounded impossible. They agreed and then began searching for just a basic inn.

They wandered around the middle class part of the city until they found a small inn which they entered. They were greeted by a rather portly lion behind a counter. "Hello there! My name's Aemron, how can I help you three today?" he asked in a jolly voice. The trio approached the counter with pleasant expressions.

"We want to buy a room for the night. Do you have any that would be able to fit three?" asked Sar?Kal.

The lion looked Sar'Kal over for a second before replying. "Well I'm afraid that our biggest room has only two beds, so unless you're gonna share you'll probably want to get two smaller rooms." He said in a perfectly pleasant tone.

Sar'Kal looked at Tian'shal and Korek. They shrugged and Sar'Kal turned back to Aemron. "Alright two smaller rooms then. Preferably next to or across from each other." He said.

Aemron smiled. "Alright, that'll be... one gold mark and two silvers." He replied.

Sar'Kal handed over the money and Aemron gave them the keys to the rooms which were on the second floor. They hefted their packs once again and went to settle into the rooms. The rooms were not as nice as the one in Varala, but they were adequate and had the basic amenities that they wanted. They were bare of any real decoration, but the beds were soft and the linen was clean. Tian'shal offered to take the second room by herself and they all agreed.

Once they had all settled into the rooms, Tian'shal came back from her room and they all sat down to discuss what they should do now that they were in the capitol. The first thing to be discussed was Sar'Kal.

"I may just be a little paranoid, but it seemed like a lot of people were staring at me when we were walking around earlier. I don't want to draw any unwanted attention, especially if there are traitors here too." He said with a worried expression.

"No, you're not being paranoid Kal. I noticed it too. But quite frankly I find it understandable. You are rather distinctive, just as everyone from your nation was. Solid black fur such as yours was unique to your people and the people here in Shar'Kahn know this. It is understandable that you would draw attention." Stated Korek matter-of-factly.

Tia remained silent and Sar'Kal nodded. "I understand, but I still wish to lay low until we meet with the king. Anyway, what are we gonna do now? It's only about noon." He asked.

They all thought for a minute and then Tia offered an idea. "I think it would be a good idea if we went around the city and tried to gather some information. Maybe just listen to the daily gossip and ask a few discreet questions here and there. We could probably get a good idea of what's been going on in the capitol. Rumors and gossip tend to be surprisingly accurate. At least...it was back home." She said with a shrug of her shoulders.

Korek nodded. "That's actually an excellent idea Tia. I agree, but I think we should split up. We can cover more of the city and we won't draw attention by ourselves." He said with a smile.

Sar'Kal also nodded and then spoke. "Good. You two go around and ask some discreet questions about any strange events, suspicious persons, and the like. I'll stick to doing what I do best. I'll sneak around and see if I can listen in on any interesting conversations. People are more open mouthed when talking to people they know and when they don't fear being overheard. I think I'll check some of the pubs and inns for starters." He decided and got up. He walked over to his bag and pulled out his large hooded cloak. He clasped it around his shoulders and faced the others. They too got up.

"Alright," said Korek. "Meet back here at sundown?" he asked.

"Agreed." Replied Tia.

"Agreed." Replied Sar?Kal.

They all left the room and went out through the front door, passing Aemron on their way out. Sar'Kal had left his sword, but once they were out on the street he put a hand on the hilt of his dagger and nodded to Tian'shal and Korek. 'See you at sundown.' He said. They nodded and then they all split up.

Sar'Kal donned his hood and silently slipped into an alley. He made his way through the city through side streets and over buildings in order to avoid any large crowds. He finally came to a busy pub and he made his way around it and stopped by the various windows to listen. Without fail there was always a table right next to each window, and luckily most of the windows were open due to the pleasant weather. The fist few conversations proved pointless and he moved on. After he had visited almost every window in this pub, he passed one that made him stop. He hid himself near the window and listened hard to hear the conversation. Two voices were talking back and forth. One was a deep rumbling sort of voice and the second was somewhat soft sounding.

"Yeah, that's what I heard anyways. Ol' Emerok told me not but an hour ago. Said he saw one of them people from the north, he did. Black fur and everything!" said the softer voice. The deep voice chuckled.

"Emerok? That old coot wouldn't know a tiger from a Cherzak. But still, I heard similar whisperings today as well. I find it hard to believe...I mean...I thought they were all killed by Worliman; may the moon watch over them all, and curse Worliman for their actions. He said as he mentioned the attack on Umbra'Kahn. Sar'Kal was rather surprised at the way the stranger spoke about that event, but he kept listening as the soft voice spoke again.

"Well that may be my friend, but do you really think it's possible to completely and utterly wipe out an entire nation down to every last living person? I think not; especially those mysterious northerners, with all their defenses and mountains. I'm almost certain that at least a small number of them survived. Probably had numerous hiding places in the mountains, or even those mysterious islands off their coast. Nobody outside of their nation ever visited those islands so it's impossible to say what could be on them." He replied with an almost hopeful tone in his voice.

The deep voice replied after a moment. "Well I hope you're right. But that still begs the question... what does it mean if one is now in the capitol?"

"I have no idea. As far as I know, their royalty was entirely wiped out so they wouldn't have anyone of real stature to speak with our king. Either way, the northerners have always been mysterious so I don't presume to know how they think. Whatever their plan is I will let it be, they deserved better and like many people I wish we had been able to help them." Replied the soft voice. The deep voice merely agreed and then the conversation changed to something else and Sar'Kal moved off.

He leapt up to the roof of a nearby building and sat down as he pondered what he had just heard. He had never really considered the fact that there could have been other survivors. He had assumed that everyone had been killed like he had been told. The implications of this realization were deep and profound and Sar'Kal felt something enter his hear that he had not felt in a long time...hope. Hope that there were others form his country somewhere out there. This thought lifted his spirits and he stood and pressed on.

He continued through the town and visited a couple more pubs and heard nothing more interesting. As the sun was beginning to set, Sar'Kal decided to try one last pub before he headed back to the inn. He was rewarded at the first window he tried with a conversation of quiet voices that were discussing someone that they were all obviously apprehensive of. There were three voices, one was obviously female and the other two were men.

The first man was speaking in a hushed tone "...So you've heard the rumors about merchant Vredigar?" he asked.

"Yes I have. Horrible rumors they are. I certainly hope they aren't true. They say that the king has been suspicious of him for a while now, but he and his agents have been unable to prove their suspicions. The thought that someone of Vredigar's stature could be a traitor is terrifying." Replied the female voice.

"Still, the rumors seem accurate. I mean...he rarely ever leaves his mansion anymore and I have heard yet other rumors of shady figures coming and going from his manor now and then; usually in the night." Added the second male.

Sar'Kal heard the glug of fluid and then a thunk as a glass was set back on the table. The first man spoke in a whisper. "Do you really think that he's leaking information to the enemy? I just don't see someone like him, a wealthy merchant and all, risking everything like that." He took another swig of his drink and fell silent.

"Well from what I hear, he certainly is slimy enough. About as greedy as they come too." Said the female. "I used to know one of his servants. Heard terrible stories from them I did. Apparently he is very violent and carelessly spends his money on wine and entertainment. I was told that he regularly beat his servants and that even his family lived in fear of him." She trailed off.

"Well whatever is going on with him it isn't good. I'd bet my left thumb that the man is a traitor and a crook. Just look at all the guards he hires for himself. That mansion is like a fortress in and of itself. If you ask me, that's a sure sign of something fishy going on." Finished the second man.

Once again the conversation gradually shifted subjects and Sar'Kal moved off as the sun began to set behind the city wall. He hurried back to the inn and to his great relief, Korek and Tian'shal were already waiting for him in one of the rooms. They looked up as he entered and wore relieved expressions on their faces as well. Sar'Kal took off his cloak and grabbed a water skin before taking a seat in one of the chairs. He took a large quaff from the skin and then looked up. "So? What did you find out?" he asked calmly.

Korek and Tian'shal both took a seat as well, and Sar'Kal passed around the water skin. They both accepted it before speaking. Korek was the first to speak.

"Well other than a few rumors of you, and some other ambiguous whispers of traitors in the capitol, I didn't find much. But I must say, news of you certainly spread like wildfire. I walked around half the city and it seemed everywhere there were people talking about the 'Northerner with the black fur' and other such titles." He said with mild exasperation.

Tian'shal nodded and spoke in a tired voice. "Its true. I heard similar murmurings wherever I went as well. Someone did mention a merchant named Daemron, but I couldn't get much detailed information without arousing suspicion. Other than that I heard very little to help us." She finished with a yawn.

Sar'Kal thought for a second before speaking. "Well, that gives us two names to investigate. I heard a rather more detailed account of a merchant named Vredigar. It's certain that he's worth looking into. I also heard a conversation about me as well. It seems that the people of Shar'Kahn regret not being able to help my people." He said grimly. He didn't mention the part about possible survivors only because he didn't want to dwell on it himself. It would be worse to get his hopes up and have them left unfulfilled, than to live on as though he were the last.

Korek smiled. "Yeah, we both got that impression as well. I suppose all that's left is to see the king. Which is easier said than done, if I remember correctly form my last visit here. The palace is usually crowded with people seeking an audience for various reasons." He said with a frown.

Sar'Kal took another sip of the water and spoke calmly. "Oh I doubt we'll have trouble getting in."

"Always the optimist eh Kal? Well I propose we rest early tonight. I am exhausted and could use a good night's sleep." Said Tian'shal through another long yawn.

Korek and Sar'Kal agreed and Tian'shal went back to her room across the hall. Korek took off his outer clothes and lay down on one of the beds. "Well Kal. You're finally going to meet the king of Shar'Kahn. I hope he can help you like we all hope." He said through a yawn of his own. He was soon fast asleep as Sar'Kal remained in the chair thinking about the day's events.

Sar'Kal moved over to the foot of his bed and crossed his legs to meditate. He was soon in a deep meditation, both oblivious and fully aware of the world around him as it lay itself down to sleep.