THIRD BOOK OF THE CHRONICLES OF FANTASILIA SERIES
𝘈 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘈 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘺𝘯𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘺. 𝘈 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳. 𝘈 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴.
Two sides of the same coin are brought to the light...
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Rabante was a lively town.
Reeca, Nyxis, and Elred wove through the throng of shard fairies as soon as they strode out of the tavern they were in. Elred passed several glamours over her face and hair at every turn. "Stay anonymous," she had hissed to Reeca and Nyxis.
Reeca had summoned her cloak from her armor and now, as they weaved through rows of dark brown trunks of trangene trees, she pulled its hood lower. Nyxis produced a traveler's hat from his satchel and ducked his head in. His dark hair would stand out in the sea of pale shard fairies streaming past their small party. A hurriedly woven cloaker sat at the base of Nyxis's throat to which Reeca gave a satisfied nod to. That should be enough to pass his human trail to that of a fairy's.
Brown and orange leaves peppered the sky from Reeca's vantage after having craned her neck. The sunlight in Rabante was muted like the common pallor of the shard fairies somehow influenced it. They passed countless houses made from glass, clay, and wood standing between trunks in their strange, triangular shapes. Shard fairies dressed in differently-dyed robes hurried along the road with them, carrying all kinds of various tools and instruments like hammers, scythes, and pickaxes. Nobody gave their group as much as a sideways glance.
Reeca closed her eyes and inhaled the sweet, forest air. A gust of wind blew by and her hand shot up to prevent her hood from falling off her head. Dust mixed with the rays of sunlight as the wind, wheels, animal hooves, and fairy boots stirred them from the ground. She narrowed her eyes on the ground. Why was the ground cracked and dry?
Exotic flowers with buds as wide as Reeca's head littered one part of the road boasting transparent petals that tinkled like glass whenever they swayed with the wind. "Helinfirth's Queen," Nyxis nodded at the glinting flowers. "Good for making tea and for ornamenting dinner tables."
"Yeah, nice to know," Reeca rolled her eyes and tried to catch up to Elred instead. The shard fairy's boots stomped against the road like she was about to miss the afternoon telmaus.
The chime of metal against rock rang in every direction that Reeca turned her ears to. What was that?
"Lesium mines," Elred blurted as if hearing Reeca's thoughts. Reeca turned to find the shard fairy poking at her ears with a finger, wincing. "You'll get used to the sound as time passes."
Reeca shrugged. It was better than listening to people bicker.
Dagrine and other riding animals that looked like it neighed as merchant carts passed them by on the wide, uneven road. Reeca sniffed, rubbing her nose with a finger. She wouldn't really get used to the haze of trading routes. Suddenly, Elred deviated from the trade route and into a bushier part of the forest around them. Reeca paused and Nyxis caught up to her. Should they follow the shard fairy in?
Reeca and Nyxis glanced at each other before shrugging. What more could they lose? They trudged after the shard fairy. After a while, the triangular houses and even the bustling shard fairy locals thinned out in this part of the forest. Reeca wrapped her hand around the hilt of the sword sheathed by her hip and strained her ears. Best be ready.
