Eye Of The Eclipse - 63 You Owe Me
After the introductions with Marcel, the conversation didn’t really go any further, with him simply being contented to stand in proximity of their group like a fifth member.
This point was also as far as James was able to accompany them before having to return to the auction house to deal with matters pertaining to the aftermath of the auction, settling accounts and other transactions. With him repeatedly encouraging them to return for the next auction in three months time.
“Are you just going to follow us till we leave?” Rykar asked while looking back towards Marcel. Although it was difficult to notice his presence without actively looking for him, it was difficult for him to shake the feeling of having a stranger next to them. This was only escalated even further when he couldn’t see him, as though he was being haunted.
Seemingly having learned his lesson from his last attempt at conversation, Marcel no longer ignored the rest of Loki’s party. “It’s not really following, were all going to be exiting together either way. I’m just standing a bit closer to you guys than the others.” He shrugged while walking over to Loki’s side.
“Then why can’t I see you sometimes?” Rykar followed up by switching topic while squinting in his direction.
“You’re just not looking hard enough.”
“Then why can I see everyone else?”
“Can you see the girl in the corner?”
“What?” Rykar, and the rest of the group, turned to the corner of the hall that Marcel had nodded towards. “There’s no one in the corner.”
“Point proven.”
Annoyed at his attitude, Rykar split from the group and marched in the direction of the corner. It didn’t take long for him to reach the corner which wasn’t fully illuminated by the sun stones yet visibility was anything but low due to the rest of the hall being brightly lit.
Even up close, there was nothing there. Rykar began to squint his eyes in a similar way in which he had done in order to lock onto Marcel’s position while inspecting the space inch by inch. Gradually, a thin shadow seemed to come to light, standing out very slightly in comparison to the rest of the wall. It looked like there was a shimmer of smoky water across a small section.
Curiosity gripped him.
From their initial positions, the other three watched Rykar walk over to the corner of the room before slowly stretching out his arm as though he was trying to pull away a veil.
“You know your friend might die, right??” Marcel asked while looking incredulously at Rykar’s suicidal actions.
“What?”
“Would you stick your hand into a bear’s mouth?” He paused. “No? Didn’t think so.”
Without explaining anything else, he just let them put the dots together themselves. It only took around two seconds before they all shouted simultaneously while drawing the attention of nearly everyone in the room onto themselves.”
“Rykar!”
Too late. Just before they managed to get the shout out, Rykar had finally felt something solid to touch. Rather than feeling whatever it was on his fingers, instead he felt it clasp around his wrist like a soft yet firm grasp. The feeling was the only think he could register before his senses were literally thrown into disarray as he sailed through the air.
Flipping and turning without end, he reached nearly seven metres up before he began to descend once again. The intended collision with the ground caused everyone to wince, yet the colossal impact they were expecting didn’t come to pass. Standing under Rykar was Marcel, holding him in a lopsided princess carry which served to reveal that Rykar’s landing spot would have definitely been his head.
After the sudden attack, everyone silenced themselves and their companions just in time to hear a careless voice address Rykar and Marcel.
“Keep your hands and your pets to yourselves.”
There was no follow up after that, as the owner of the voice simply maintained her silence. Rykar was still too shaken up to retort, while Marcel seemed to have no interest in getting into a confrontation with her. He carried Rykar sloppily without having dropped his trademark grin for even a second.
“Pretty heavy huh? You’re lucky. I’m pretty sure she planned on painting the ceiling with you.” Marcel dropped Rykar while speaking in a way that was difficult to figure out if he was being serious or sarcastic.
“She’d try to kill a child for just that?” Even Rob was a bit taken aback by the severity of her actions.
“‘Just for that’ for one person’ could mean everything for another. Besides, I’m pretty sure a big part of it is because she saw him with me.”
“You mean, saw you with us.”
“Doesn’t make a difference. What does matter though, is that he owes me.” He said pointing down to Rykar, who was now shakily getting to his feet.
“We don’t owe you a thing.” Loki and Rob countered at the same time.
“I didn’t say you owe me anything. I said he does.” He then looked down at Rykar with his smile deepening. “How much do you want to bet that I could kill him before you could even say my name?”
“What do you want from us?” Chance finally spoke up.
First, he wasn’t really too concerned with how everything was going. Although Marcel seemed to have an odd character, that was the extent of it. However, after watching Rykar, who was near enough 300kg, be thrown into the air by an invisible figure and then caught by Marcel without even breaking a sweat, he felt like someone clutched his heart.
“I just want to be friends!” Marcel laughed out loud while holding his chest, as though they had wronged him. “Well, to be friends and for him to join my guild.” He added while pointing at Loki.
“We’re already in one.”
“Oh really, which one?”
“Does it matter?”
“Not really, well we can just stay friends for now. And I’ll be taking this one with me later, he owes me after all.” Marcel ruffled Rykar’s hair as though he was playing with his little brother.
“Anyway, it’s almost time to go. As friends, we should all go up together!” He looked at the staff member that walked into the hall then he turned to Loki. “Happy? I’m involving everyone now?”
It felt as though they had been taken hostage with only a few words having been said. However, even with the weird tension in the air, the playful nature of Marcel made it hard to take it seriously.
Following the new attendant, they made their way out of the hall and through a long hallway before arriving at a lift which was easily at least ten times the size of the one they had come down. Even with around thirty people standing on the platform, there was still plenty of space to spare.
Sunlight greeted them as they surfaced from the underground. Within a massive archway which served to protect the entrance from the elements, the platform carried the group of people to the ground level. Without even realizing the passing of time, it was already early morning after having spent the entire night at the auction.
There were high walls all around them, sealing them into the area while also giving them an idea of exactly where they were. The elevator actually connected directly to the castles courtyard! Aside from defensive walls and the castle itself, the artistic paving of the pathways were framed with swaths of flowers and decorative statues of all shapes and sizes.
There was even a network of small streams that wove between the spaces, complete with narrow bridges for easy crossing. Compared to the rest of the city, it felt like they were back within the fragment. The grey and browns that were so commonplace on the outside of these walls seemed completely artificial compared to the vibrancy before them.
Even though everyone was still behind their masks, Chance’s group could tell that none of those present even spared the scenery a second glance before exiting the archway under the direction of the attendant.
“Nice, but way too artificial. There’s no thought to it, besides whether it looks pretty or not.” Marcel commented as he saw his new ‘friends’ in a stupor, falling slightly behind the rest of the group.
“Artificial? Are they fake?” Rykar asked suspiciously before plucking a delicate looking flower. Seeing it actually fall from the stalk, he quickly hid it in his pocket in case one of the staff caught him.
“Not fake, but there is nothing like this in the wild. The most reliable thing is something that can function on its own. This place is just made to show off in front of guests or impress a date after a night out.” He sighed while watching them check the flowers as they slowly continued down the path.
“So you have a garden better than this one?” Loki questioned.
“Haha, do you think I’d be here if I could afford a garden like this, much less a better one?” Marcel laughed without shame. “I just don’t like show offs.”
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“Why are you here? To make friends?”
“Haha actually, you’re not far from the truth. I guess you could say this is my punishment. And yes, I am here to make friends, you came along at the perfect time!”