Keith and Prem ventured forward. Ignoring far away screams or growlings. Some house were collapsed, set ablaze because of the neighbouring one. But most of them were closed from the inside, the servant could see multiple furnitures piled in front of the windows.
Peeking between two planks, someone whispered.
"Psst! Come with us! You can't stay outside, it's too dangerous!" It was a feminine voice that made Keith stop. She said. "I'll move my stuff from the door so you two can enter."
What first caught her attention was the kid, not the royal outfit next to him.
Five more kids were already inside, it was a single storey house with a thatch roof. The woman noticed the marks on the kid's hands and she never asked to remove the strange costume.
Prem bowed in gratefulness, he then introduced himself. "I am Prem from the royal court, I serve the king and his sent sorcerer to fight against the evil. His name is Seven, his skin is fragile, please refrain from touching his outfit." His gaze went on the younglings. All boys. He could approximate their age from three, for the one the woman held, to fifteen, a boy with a long and muscular torso.
Keith lifted his hand to say hi, letting the boys see its state too. His nails were slightly grey and not entirely covering the tip of his fingers yet. "Nice to meet you."
"I hope you'll both overlook the difference between our social status, we are only farmers. We are the Dayal family. My husband hasn't come back yet but be at ease, have a seat.
The boys were shy, they had been told to always keep quiet when around royals to avoid problems. It was a rule as important as not following strangers.
"Are you hungry? I did not cook lunch yet." She gestured his oldest to come and help, Prem nodded while Keith said "I'm fine, thank you."
When Keith asked for a bed, he was given one right away. He gritted his teeth as Show dug the symbol he had in his mouth, making him bleed a little as per usual. Without a sound, he spied on the king while he pretended to sleep.
The king was arguing with his high ranked soldiers. They had many ornaments on their attire, making them look as if they were ready for a parade instead of war. The king was brought to his golden dressing where a thousand clothes were hung.
A servant bowed, showing the king an anomaly on his favorite cape. The biggest black cat Keith had ever seen was spread out like a rug. Its forearm still had their claws on and his fangs hung out like jewels. Sadly the piece of art lacked life, it could've been great to craft it fake eyes at least.
Predators needed sharp eyes, it gave their aura power. The king discarded his fur with a brute gesture. The black panther cape had been mutilated by Show, making the king grief for his favorite skin.
Later, the king spend time making statement and giving orders, nothing that could bring Keith out of boredom, so the boy lifted his tongue from the symbol and cancelled the spying session.
Two more hours to go and he was becoming impatient.
"Psst! Come over here! We can shelter you guys!" The woman said again. This time she spotted a small group of soldiers, covered in dark blood. Six men approached the house, their leader lift his steel plated armor to avoid useless noise.
"Woman, we're dirtier than wild boars and yet you offer us shelter, we're tired. We've slain our way here, we stink and we'd be glad to have a meal, are you sure you want us in your dwelling?"
Without hesitation, she moved her wardrobe with the help of Prem and her oldest son.
'BOY! Picco's here!' Shouted Show, excited. 'What? How? Impossible.' The kid thought. And a third voice spoke too. 'Aaah... My friend, long time no see.' Randi was still here, his voice was nearly inaudible. The spirit's mind was on the verge of collapsing, the explanation shook the three-personality kid so deep he had hard time focusing or insuring which thought was his.
'I'm sure it's him, I can't forget his wretched face, plus his size betrays him from a mile away. Quick! put back your mask and hide your hands under your sleeves. All we need to do is-'
"Picco? Long time no see!" The kid said, cutting Show short.
The little man lifted the visor masking the top of his face and looked around. 'Who?'
He looked at the six boys in the room, one after the other, and he found one special. The other soldiers looked at Picco out of interest.
"Are you...?" "Seven! He's sorcerer Seven from the royal court." Said Prem, knowing the kid had to keep his antecedents sealed.
"I came from the same village as you, it appears I am not allowed to tell more." Said Keith before approaching the soldier, his weapon in hand. He gave him an unexpected hug. Picco was the first person Keith had seen from his village since he lost his father, making the importance of their relationship more important to Keith's eyes.
Picco returned the embrace, relieved. "You were with the royals all along? Why did they chose to keep you... Oh never mind. Sorcerer? Why are you out of the palace then?" He said, not knowing which question to ask first. The rumors he heard from his companions flashed in his mind. He heard so much stories about Varanasi's new sorcerer, which ones were true?
In the end, he was just glad the kid survived his wound.
"The king kept me because of my talent, and because of Foresee, the main reason why you became a soldier, I'm also out here because I was tasked to save the city, I need to find a rat. Have you seen any?"
'Talented? He's above any expectation, the rat matter was not even taken into account by the captain! But...' "I've seen no rat since my duty in south gate, the outbreak begun the same instant. So you're telling me you're going south on purpose? To find rats?"
The conversation had no sense to any of the witnesses, but they felt a little involved since all of them contributed to the reunion.
Their tale was far-fetched but Prem's ambassador clothes helped them gain trust despite the mask hiding the kid's features. Looking at someone's face may help anyone know who's lying, and it's even more effective for children.
Deep inside the explanation, Mister Show was boiling out of rage, he used the poor spirit as a rag-doll to pass time not thinking about his old grudge, the meaning word 'shapeless' evolved along Show's onslaught.
The soldier's mood was low, they had lost three of their friends under the last three hours. Picco bowed toward Jaggar. "I can't accompany you further, I came into this city for this kid, I'm not leaving him alone anymore. I'll stay with him and, huh..."
"Ambassador Prem." The man in the corner said with a sour tone. "Seven and ambassador Prem it is."
But the soldier put his hand on Picco's shoulder and replied. "I'll come with you, I want revenge for my father, I'm not sure how this little one works but I'll stick along. All of you, you can either stay here or continue your way up, it seems the more you go north, the less danger lingers." He spoke to the fatigued soldiers.
"It's already more than I can handle in one day, I'll stay with our hosts." One said, and the remaining three chose to stay in the house as well.
"I want to wait until it's nighttime to go south." Said Keith.
"And why is it? Most citizen are gone with their light, It'll be only more dangerous, plus I'm not sure two can protect more than their own shadow. I propose we go now." Said Jaggar, determined.
Picco and Prem had the same opinion, and after checking their surroundings, they departed.
"I can carry Seven if we need to run, but I won't keep him on my shoulders all along, he's too heavy." Said Prem, remembering the twenty more kilos he had to bear until touching ground while escaping the palace. For the two soldiers, the steel parts of their armor were enough to give them back pain every day.
"Wait a minute... He can't see?" Asked Jaggar, looking more closely at the wooden mask. He was astonished to not have noticed it earlier.
"I can't see but I can speak for myself, thanks." Said Keith while Prem outbid the kid. "He's capable of much more, show more respect when you talk of him, and with him."
"I am no liability, don't worry." Said Keith with a low tone, emphasizing Jaggar's hesitation to continue the mission further.
In Picco's mind, minuscules strands formed, the link between Wenyi, the sorcerer at the origin of Keith's birth and the kid's talent he had yet to witness formed. He only heard things from the lucky ones that had a session with the so called 'Seven'. Those linking soldiers to nobility told many tales, but he was curious to see it in action.