COF 4: The Abject Throne

14 | Clue (I)

Being back in the Disfavoreds was like a searing slap in the face. Xanthy wasn't prepared to see the rotting buildings, the arid landscape, and the gaunt people. She certainly wasn't prepared for the glaring heat and the pungent smell of sweat, mud, and rot.

The sirtya dropped her and Cirasa at the edge of the forest of Asopus that lined the Disfavoreds. They walked out of the forest, each step a grave reminder of June. Xanthy's stomach turned as she passed the spot where she first unleashed the Virtakios. The char marks were still visible in some of the chipped walls.

Xanthy chuckled to herself as her boots crunched against the dusty and uneven road. Everything seemed ages ago. She had nothing to worry about then other than houses and versallis. Now...

Now, she's got the world to worry about, for the witches' sake. Her from a few months ago would probably run around screaming if she knew that.

Xanthy glanced at the rotting houses and at the empty plots of land. Everything was quiet and still that even the wind had seemingly died down. There were no children playing ball on the streets or running around on errands from their parents. The karavag tables where the elderly often flock to during the afternoon were empty. Boots, sandals, and bare feet scratching the dusty roads were nonexistent.

There's...nothing.

Then, the smell hit. "Uck," Cirasa covered his nose with his sleeve. "What's that smell?"

"Dead bodies," Xanthy shrugged as they passed the point where she used to attend funerals for the dead. The scent was usually the strongest here. Then again, she'd been inhaling this air for as long as she could remember that she could smell it from anywhere in the Disfavoreds. "You'll get used to it."

Cirasa blinked at the infrastructure like he was seeing it for the first time and couldn't believe it existed. "You used to live here?"

"All my life," Xanthy craned her neck at the sky that started turning blue as the sun entered the first quarter. She turned to Cirasa who was stirring up a lot more dirt with every step he took. What a beginner. The key was to slide one's feet through and not actually taking a step. Xanthy wrinkled her nose. "Come on. This is the only place no fairy would bother to look for us."

"Makes sense," Cirasa rolled his shoulders and caught up to Xanthy. He stuck his bottom lip out. "The Human territory is not as autonomous as you think."

Xanthy turned to the shard fairy and hoped he wouldn't catch a random mercok with that expression. "Hmm?"

"Cardina isn't autonomous like Dwanzeig," Cirasa dusted his sleeves and cursed. Oh, one couldn't get rid of the dust until one was halfway through Carleon. Xanthy tried. "The Human government still relies on Lanteglos for relegating its nobles and its army leaders. It said so on the Treaty," Cirasa was saying.

Xanthy raised an eyebrow. "Treaty?"

Cirasa nodded. "Yeah. After the Human-Fairy War, the Fairies granted the Humans a separate piece of land on the condition that Lanteglos would still manage its politics. One can't be a noble or a general without the approval of the High Queen."