Chapter 14
The Barrghest begins stretching out his fore and hind legs, pops his neck and then shakes some of the fatigue off from himself. "I'm starting to feel the fatigue. Using my abilities this frequently in this short of a span, is not something that I have managed before. I may have molted a few times now, but I do not think I will be able to continue at this pace to reach that citadel." He says aloud, motioning to the beacon of light and life, off quite a distance.
Aurelius' face begins to beam, as he whips around and produces a book from the ring on his finger. He begins taking notes for a moment before coming to his senses. "Apologies, I was overcome with excitement upon hearing you speak the same language, I forgot all about escaping this place in haste." He comments, returning the notes to his storage ring.
"It was only a matter of time. I knew my own languages, and being constantly exposed to your native tongue gave me more than enough time to learn." The Barrghest replies, and then takes a few steps in the direction of the beacon of light in the distance.
"Is there something I should call you?" Aurelius asks, following alongside his traveling companion.
"My old name no longer fits me, and I have yet to be given a new name. So until that occurs, you can simply refer to me as Barrghest. My name will find me when it is supposed to." The Barrghest explains.
Aurelius and Barrghest converse for some time as they travel towards the citadel, managing to cover quite a bit of distance in a fairly short period of time. The path there is rough and without compass, which would have made navigation difficult if they did not have the mass of glowing light emanating from the distance.
The air in this space is a mixture of fresh, putrid, strange, and familiar. This puzzles the Barrghest long enough to frustrate him and elicit the question from him. "Why is the air so terrible up here?"
"That is most likely the result of having multiple portals open. From what the travel guide says, the citadel of portals contains gates to numerous other locations, though they are closely guarded by the factions in control of the city we are heading to. If we cannot gain access to the portal to return us home, then I will have to gather the reagents to open our own gate." Aurelius explains.
"Then let us hope we can easily get through." The Barrghest replies, and the pair manage to travel the rest of the distance to reach the citadel.
The walls of the city are made from hewn stone, and enchanted to bear through the strange weather of this place. They stand a good thirty feet tall, though in part that is because the ground outside the walls have been extracted. Further proof of this lies in the remnant's of cut stone, dozens of feet away from the walls themselves.
The gate for the city walls is connected to the exterior by a long and tall ramp. Arrow slits rest at the top of the wall, and dim lights peak through in addition to whatever soldiers might be patrolling the walls.
The gate itself is made from stone, reinforced with steel bars and clearly enchanted by the runes and magic scripts drawn on the face of the stone. Aurelius approaches first, with the Barrghest on his rear left.
"Good day! We come from below and seek admittance into the city!" Aurelius calls out. As a response, four mages appear at the top of the gate, brandishing staves at him.
"Do you have papers?!" One of the mages calls out while the others begin chanting personal detection spells to give themselves a better look at what has just approached the city gates. One of the mages at the gate even gives the large barrghest a strange look, as if he were looking upon a foreign creature.
"I do! I have planeswalker forms!" Aurelius calls out and takes a step back, waiting. One of the mages on the wall calls back to an unseen soldier. Orders can be heard in a muffled state, although the gate begins to slowly open, giving away the intention behind the unheard commands.
From within, three soldiers armed with magical equipment approach Aurelius, through his magesight he can tell they are wearing standard issue mid grade equipment for those that are tasked with guarding extra-planar territories. Two of the soldiers have swords on their sides, with an accompanying shield at their back, while the third has a large bastard sword strapped across his back.
Aurelius produces the papers from his ring upon request, the mages up top keeping a close eye on the situation. From this vantage point, Aurelius can tell they are not willing to give up the high ground and even guesses they might have the ability to close the gate if Aurelius does not comply with their regulations.
"A platinum seal is not easy to come by. A mage as powerful as you, should be bound to one of the Trinity Organizations." The soldier inspecting his papers says aloud, handing his papers back and turning his attention to the Barrghest with Aurelius. "And does it have papers?"
"The creature is with me. I'll be taking responsibility for whatever actions he takes while within the city." Aurelius explains to the soldier.
'What are these Trinity Organizations, and why do you seem to have this get out of jail free pass. The human seems intimidated by the very presence of that document.' The Barrghest communicates over the mind-link that Aurelius continues to maintain.
'The pass is something that I have accumulated over the years. Being a mage of my caliber gives me certain privileges. For instance, I know a few spells that could cause this entire citadel to be reduced to ruins. That sort of magic is monitored, so the pass is just as much of a burden as it is a blessing.' Aurelius explains.
"Very well then. We request that you log your visitation to out city at the town hall. Our commander will be notified, if you have not done so within the hour." The soldier explains before allowing Aurelius and The Barrghest to enter into the city.
Aurelius nods and then begins leading his comrade away from the main gate, reluctantly continuing the conversation about the Trinity Organization. 'The organization I was a part of is called the Star Horizon. They are one of the groups commonly labeled as a Trinity Organization. The Trinity Organizations are bound by contract not to interfere with the affairs of nations. You can think of them as a group of mages so powerful that they rival an entire nation in military and magical might. The reason they are named Trinity Organizations is because the top three mages are magically bound to uphold the contract and to oversee all within their organization. The reason I am hunted by my organization is because I have broken away and abandoned my duty as one of the Trinity mages to Star Horizon.'