Harbinger Of Doom: The Attainer

12. The Capital

His head lowered and his eyebrows were knitted together. The bandits scampered with threatening bawls, typically impatient to get rid of their victims. Vicksen and Joanne gazed at Lores, eyes saying "please don't mess up". They were unsure with tensed patience due to Lores' intermittency with his powers.

Lores himself developed an incredible faith befitting that of a grandmaster. It would be hard to tell if his accumulated courage and unwavering faith came from the fact that he was goaded or he was enthusiastic to experiment his abilities.

All of a sudden, wind was picking up in the thicket of a chaotic force and Lores' spread out palm masterfully manipulated it.

Before the bandits could get to where the travellers were poised, an uncanny force swept them off their feet and they became like weightless papers left at the tender mercy of a violent storm. They were brutally transported midair to slam the monstrous rocks while they groaned in protest. The very unfortunate ones who slammed headfirst against the rigid rocks didn't even get to hum their last prayers before giving up the ghost.

Joanne and Vicksen watched in amazement, their mouths slightly opened. They were overwhelmed by the transcendence of the underestimated youth.

Lores flipped his hair and stood akimbo, feeling like an expert. Internally, he was screaming in shock because his own performance astounded him. A happy smile flickered on his face.

"Time to leave." He told his comrades, and went ahead without waiting for them. Joanne towed without saying a word. Vicksen pointed repeatedly in the direction of Lores. He was dumbstruck that he couldn't think of what exactly to say. When he realized that words were destined not to come out of his mouth, he sighed and followed after Joanne.

Together, they left the territory of the bandits.

They arrived at the capital the next day in the middle of noon. Sueve, the capital of Liz lived up to it's reputation of being bustling and boisterous. The streets were occupied with numerous people going about their daily businesses. Stalls were found at every corner with traders selling their products. Yells of:

"Apricots! Fresh potatoes! Your top quality accessories!" Engulfed the air. The travellers stood in the midst of the jostling crowd, swivelling their heads in amazement as a different atmosphere shrouded them. Some clowns were performing on the street, alluring people to crowd around them. The travellers, however, enjoyed the display from a distance.

Lores felt like he transmigrated to another world. Everything around him seemed so new and unfamiliar. The few hundreds of people in Vatmos, the wattle and daub houses, and the lush farmlands and vegetations were the things he was more familiar with. He caught sight of a large storey building and transfixed his gaze on it. He hadn't seen such fashion of a building before.

Joanne too was in the same boat with Lores. She imagined how a place could be as lively as where she found herself.

A frisky kid accidentally bumped into her which prompted her to reel back. The kid slumped onto the bricked floor, and the half eaten apple he was holding escaped from his grasp. Without feeling offended, Joanne couched to pick up the fruit and handed it back with a smiley face to the sharp kid who was already on his feet. The kid wore an expression that was between a smile and a frown. And neither apologizing nor showing gratitude, he sprinted back into the crowd.

Lores and Joanne swapped glances and giggled together. At this point, just anything would amaze them including the fleeting of a fly.

Vicksen felt a surge of reminiscence as he stared around. Back then, when he was the right-hand man of Lukas, they would leisurely ride in the bustling capital of Solice. How time flies and how fickle a situation can be, he thought. Hollers of oncoming persons jolted him out of his train of thoughts.