Power Quest: The Rebellion of Terrakia by Andrew Koenig (best free e book reader .txt) 📕

            There was a hushed silence from the crowd for a few seconds.  The only sound Amanda and Casimer could hear was the soft snicker of their captor.  A warm bead of sweat crept down Casimer’s neck, dampening his collar.

            “That’sh Granny Velmer’s kid…” Slurred a lone voice from the back corner of the barn.  The crowd began to part as a drunken figure staggered to confront Zak, bumping into the occasional rebel with a grunt.  “A-yup,” The man confirmed, spilling his tankard of ale as he pointed to Casimer.  “That’sh Casimer.”

            “And who are you, sir?” Zak questioned, eyeballing the drunken mess before him. 

            “Mr. Habar!” Casimer interrupted. His grin stretched from cheek to cheek.  “Er, Leif, I suppose.”

            Leif staggered backwards, spilling more ale onto his coarse, yellow tunic.  “That’s shme awlright!”  He hiccoughed.  “He worksh at the Common Cup wif ‘is moffer.  That’sh Granny Velmer.”  He mumbled with his eyes half shut.  Some of the crowd murmured amongst themselves, debating the validity of Leif’s claim.

            The tall man beside Zak furrowed his brow and stared at Leif with narrowed eyes.  “How, do you know that, exactly?”  He bellowed.  Zak nodded his head in agreement, urging Leif to explain.

            “I’m alwaysh there.” Leif mumbled, stumbling into the crowd.  There were cries of anger as he spilled more ale over himself and the mob.  “Got noffun else to do ‘sides drink.” He spat.  The crowd watched in pity as Leif tripped over his own feet, landing on a thin veil of yellow hay covering the dirt floor.

            Zak shook his head and turned to Casimer, who glanced back with a shrug.  “Granny Velma and I figure he’ll be safer with us looking over him.” He explained moving forward to help Leif up.

            The dark haired captor raised his longsword and pointed it at Casimer.  “Don’t move, prisoner!” He shouted, his eyes narrowing, honing in on his target.  Zak held up a hand and with a look of wide-eyed shock, the boy sheathed his blade.  He looked at Zak and mouthed ‘why?’ as Casimer picked Leif up and helped him to stand.

            Zak looked at his taller companion and gave him a knowing nod.  Turning to the crowd he spoke in a low and booming shout.  “It is my opinion that Leif is telling the truth.”  The crowd murmured amongst itself, but silenced when Zak raised his hand and continued his speech.  “Leif represents what Zeke’s rule brings all of us: ruin!  It is clear that Casimer has given aid to one of us, in a time of great need.  If he shows one of us such compassion, how can we deny it to him?  I say we let the boy join our ranks!”  There was a cheer from some in the crowd and even Leif raised his tankard in a salute of victory.

            The dark haired boy groaned and rolled his eyes.  “So perhaps the boy isn’t a spy for the Imperials, but what about the girl?  Nobody has spoken for her!”  Amanda gasped and furrowed her brow at him, incredulous at the accusation.

            “If she came in with Casimer, I imagine that he will speak for her integrity.”  The Glacydilian man boasted.  He gave Casimer a nod and raised his eyebrows, his sky blue eyes pushing Casimer to testify.

            Casimer cleared his throat and pointed towards Amanda.  “Well, she’s been my best friend for about as long as I can remember, and she’s never really been sympathetic to the soldiers.  She’s a priestess at the Temple of Divinity, too!”

            Raising an eyebrow to the man beside him, Zak scratched his chin and looked at Amanda.  “A priestess?  So you’re rather religious, then?”

            “Not really,” Amanda mumbled, shaking her head.  “I’m more of a healer, less of a priestess.”  She shrugged and eyed the dark haired boy with uncertainty as he drummed his fingers on the handle of his sword.

            The Glacydilian man scratched his chin and gave Zak a subtle grin, which Zak was eager to return.  Zak raised his hand and motioned to Amanda.  “You’ve heard it for yourselves, she’s a healer!  And with her help, we can rid this country of its Imperial infection!”  The crowd roared in approval and raised their fists to the sky, where the embers of the great fire rose, sending hundreds of bright orange sparks up through the air.

            “… Let’s all meet back here next week to begin formal combat training.”  Zak concluded his speech to the crowd, scratching the back of his head.  “Alld should have made us some more weapons by then,” he motioned to the Glacydilian man at his side, who nodded and crossed his arms.  “So we should be able to begin the basics of handling our weapons.”

            After one final cheer, the crowd began to leave the barn in small groups of ten.  The great fire had begun to die and it spewed fewer embers through the stiff air of the barn.  As the crowd dispersed, Zak and Alld gathered by the dying firelight.  Alld pulled a letter from the breast pocket of his white, cotton shirt, and began to point at it, referencing something for Zak.

            “Do you want to get going?”  Casimer asked Amanda as he stretched his arms.  “I imagine your parents are worried about you.”

            She merely nodded and pointed towards Zak and Alld.  “Sure, I just need to ask Zak a couple of questions first.”  Casimer nodded and headed to the corner of the barn, where Mr. Kinley stored firewood.  Leif was lying down, passed out on the ground.  His head rested on the small wood chopping stump and his tankard of ale was completely spilled on the dirt beside him.  Casimer gave his shoulder a few nudges, trying to wake him, and then proceeded to toss what little ale remained in the tankard into Leif’s face.

            “Excuse me, Zak?”  Amanda called, her voice wavering.  She twisted her hair between her fingers.  Zak looked back at her and raised his eyebrows, urging her to continue wordlessly.

            She cleared her throat and folded her hands together.  “What’s the purpose of this rebellion?”

            Zak and Alld exchanged a quizzical, raised eyebrow before looking back at Amanda.  “What do you mean, Amanda?”  Alld asked in his gruff accent.  “We want to free our city from the control of Zeke’s oppressive forces!”

            Amanda shook her head continued to twist her hair around her finger.  “I know that, what I really meant was ‘where do you see the rebellion ending?’”

            “I think you already know the answer to that, Amanda.”  Zak explained, crossing his arms.

            “I suppose I do…”  Amanda trailed off with a sigh.  “You want to take this directly to Zeke in Kaneke.”

            Alld chuckled and placed his letter back in his breast pocket.  “It would be pointless to only free Kaneele.  Zeke’s forces would swarm our homes and kill us all.”

            “The only way to have true freedom is to end Zeke’s rule, completely.”  Zak finished.

            “Disestablishing an entire monarchy is impossible for two hundred untrained citizens, much less two hundred trained ones!”  Amanda protested, her golden brown eyes appearing heavy as her eyebrows squinted.  “I urge you to consider this all the way through!”

            Laughing, Alld patted Amanda on the shoulder.  His hands were firm but his touch gentle, though partially off-putting.  “Don’t worry, we’ve already considered that.  We have a plan for all of your concerns.”

            “Why don’t you go home and rest for the night?  Give your mind some time to relax.”  Zak added, stroking his chin.  “Come speak with me tomorrow after your classes if there’s anything left for us to discuss.”

            Amanda nodded and thanked them both, then shuffled to Casimer’s corner of the barn, where he was helping Leif onto his feet.  The drunk man stumbled and groaned, but, after some encouragement, was able to stand on his own.  Casimer waved to Amanda as she approached and started gathering some chopped firewood.

            “I wouldn’t want Granny Velma to think we were out doing something we shouldn’t.”  Casimer teased with a wink.  Amanda rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help cracking a smile.  Leif looked between the two of them and scratched the greasy, unkempt hair atop his head. 

            Casimer glanced over at Leif, then grimaced in concern.  “Let’s get out of here quick, Amanda.  I think Mr. Habar needs to get some rest before he throws up.”  Hearing his name, Leif gave a thumbs up, then placed his hands on his knees and hunched over slightly.  Amanda grabbed a rusty lantern from a hook on the wall and lit it with a candle the rested beside the lantern hook.  She led Casimer and Leif to the barn doors, then led them out into the dark night, guiding their way back to the city with the orange light from the lantern.

            The trio walked in a silence that was only broken by the sounds of the night.  The occasional screech of an owl above the rhythmic chirping of the crickets provided them a midnight ambience to accompany their stroll through the woods.  Before long, Leif had chimed into the cacophony as well with drunken renditions of ancient war songs.

To the sky, rise the battle cry

On this field the blood does dry

Steel meet steel, let the arrows fly

By this time, come morning, the king will die

            “Get him to shut up, Casimer!”  Amanda whispered harshly.  “We’re almost in the city and the guards can’t hear him singing that!”

             Casimer nodded and grabbed Leif by the arm.  “Hey, Mr. Habar, if you stop singing, I’ll have Granny Velma offer you a round of ale on the house when we get back to the inn.”

            Leif squinted at Casimer, scrutinizing the boy.  “A round of ale?  I dunno…”  He trailed off.  He lurched forward, then backward, then stumbled into a regular walk.  “Me ‘ed ish pounding.  It feelsh like it’s ‘bout to fall off!”

            “Well, how about this, then:  If you stay quiet until we’re back at the inn, then I’ll cook you a filling meal to make your head feel better?”  Casimer proposed with a nod and a toothy grin.  Leif scratched the greasy, brown hair on the back of his head, then nodded with drunken lethargy.

            “Pheasant wif garlic and herbsh?”  He asked with a grin.

            “If that’s what you want, sure.”  Casimer chuckled, shaking his head.  “But remember, you have to stay quiet!”

            The drunk nodded and brought his finger to his lips, promising Casimer his silence.  As they all approached the city streets, new voices were added to the midnight symphony.  The screeching owls became more infrequent, but they were replaced by the howling of stray cats searching for a late night meal from any scraps of trash they could find.

            Their footsteps echoed off the cobblestone streets as they trooped through the streets of Kaneele.  Hanging lanterns and suspended, wooden torches lit the empty streets, bathing them in their orange splendor.  Casimer grinned as he pointed to the Common Cup Inn at the side of the marketplace.

            “Look, Mr. Habar, we’re here!”  Casimer chuckled, patting the drunk on his sweaty back.  “Why don’t you go have Granny Velma pour you a drink?”

            Leif staggered towards the grey building while he muttered something about another round of booze, but he was stopped in his tracks as he bumped into a wall of maroon steel.  Leif fell to the ground with a thud while the Imperial guard glared down, his green-yellow eyes barrowing into the man’s soul.

            Nudging Leif with his lance, the guard looked at Casimer.  “What’s his problem?”  He grunted.  Casimer could see the guard’s yellowed teeth as the man grimaced, his face contorted into a disapproving frown.

            Shaking his head, Casimer strolled over to Leif, helping him to stand.  “Sorry,