Power Quest: The Rebellion of Terrakia - Andrew Koenig (guided reading books txt) 📗

a smile.  She rubbed his cheek with her thumb and kissed his forehead before standing up.  “Thank you Casimer, I’m feeling a little better now.”

            “What do we do now?”  Casimer asked, his voice shaken and low.

            “Now,” Velma began with a chuckle.  “We fix this place up and carry on as if nothing happened.”  She went into the kitchen and grabbed more rags for Leif.  Casimer sat on the floor for a minute, baffled by Velma’s apathy.

            Casimer looked around at the ruined inn and Velma and the two regulars trying to fix all the damage the guards had left.  He looked down at his clenched fist and grunted softly.  Slowly, he took a deep breath and released it, then ran his hands through his soft blonde hair.  Casimer stood up and headed towards the door, opening it and calling out to Velma.

            “Hey, Granny Velma, I’m going to go to the Diarmaid’s and ask them for some help cleaning up the inn.”

            Velma thanked him and waved her hand at him.  Casimer nodded and strode off to Amanda’s house, his fists clenched still.  He could feel his face going red as he walked, but he didn’t care.  “Who in the hell do these Imperial scumbags think they are…”  Casimer thought, his fists ever-tightening.  He tried to shake the thought away, but all he could think about on the walk was how good a rebellion truly sounded to him.

 

 

 

 

            “Tomorrow morning, Rachelle and I will go to the carpenter and get you some new barstools.”  Mr. Diarmaid told Velma, washing up the bar counter with a wet rag.  “I believe the merchant down at The Green Quill came into some new pieces of artwork, so we can get some new pieces to liven the place up some.”  He grinned at Velma and chuckled.  “Might even be able to repair that portrait!”

            Velma smiled and thanked him as she brought a new cask of ale onto the clean bar counter.  Rachelle, Mr. Diarmaid’s wife, brought two clean mugs for the counter and placed them next to her husband.  Her fingers were long and slender, and there was a modest, silver ring with a gold amber topaz gemstone embalmed on one of them.  Her arms were frail and thin and matched her skinny frame.  Her hair was a wiry, stringy brownish blonde and her eyes were deep-set, sunken, and some shade of brown like burnt pecans.  Her thin lips peeled over her teeth when she smiled.

             “If you need anything, just let us know, dear.”  Rachelle smiled, squeezing Velma in a stiff hug. 

            “Thank you, everyone,” Velma said, her wrinkled cheeks pulled into a great smile.  “If we can ever repay you in any way, please don’t hesitate to-”

            She was interrupted by the booming laughter of Mr. Diarmaid.  “Nonsense, Velma,” he blared, his large, meaty hands gripping his burly stomach.  “We’re your friends!  We’re here to help whenever you need it!”

            His wife chimed in her agreement and turned to her husband.  “Should we get going, Lucjan?”  She whispered, her hands on his shoulders.  “You had some bread in the oven, remember?”

            Lucjan’s chocolate eyes lit up and he quickly excused himself to the door.  “Sorry again for the mess, and please feel free to visit us should you be needing anything!”   He called as he ran out the door, leaving Rachelle and Amanda behind.

            Rachelle chuckled to herself and hugged Velma, kissing her on the cheek.  “Take care, hon.  And please come visit some time!  I’ll brew some tea and we can have some lady time!”

            Velma thanked her and agreed to consider her offer.  After the door closed behind Rachelle, Velma strode over to Casimer and Amanda, who were sweeping near the hearth.

            “Ah, Amanda, going to go join your parents?”  Velma inquired, her eyes soft and friendly. 

            Amanda glanced over at Casimer, who was subtly shaking his head.  “Uh… No, Ms. Foss, I think I’m going to, uh, stay here for a bit.”  She muttered, the ends of her lips pulled into a confused frown.  Velma chuckled and headed into the kitchen to prepare a bowl of potato soup for the late night customers.  Once Velma had left, Amanda hit Casimer on the arm and glared at him.

            “Would you mind telling me what’s so important that I can’t go home with my family?”  She demanded, her lips pulled into a full frown and her golden brown eyes glaring at him with a fiery glow.

            Casimer glanced around the bar and, seeing no one, whispered into Amanda’s ear.  “I can’t talk about it here.  Come on,” he said, grabbing a lantern from the ground near the hearth.  “We’ll go to the old Kinley Farm and talk there.”

            Amanda looked at Casimer, puzzled and intrigued, then shook her head.  “Sure, let’s go.”  She conceded, shrugging.  Casimer led the way to the door and held it open for her.

            “Hey, Granny Velma,” he called, already out the door.  “Amanda and I are going to chop some wood for the hearth.  We’ll be back in the evening!”  With the slam of the door, Amanda and Casimer left The Common Cup Inn without waiting for so much as an ‘okay’ from Velma.

The Barn

 

From their perch in one of the apple trees that lined what remained of the Kinley Farm, Amanda and Casimer watched the sun slowly descend past the sea of grain and corn that filled the farmlands to the west of Kaneele.  The fading sunlight painted the skyline with hues of blood orange and reddish violet.  Casimer hung his lantern on one of the branches and lit the candle inside the glass frames with a match.  The faint orange glow from the lantern only grew stronger as the sun continued to set. 

            Amanda picked two red apples from the branch beneath her and tossed one to Casimer, who was sitting on the branch above her and to her left.  She took a bite from the crunchy, tart fruit and looked up at Casimer.

            “So,” she began, with a mouthful of juicy apple.  “What’s so important that you couldn’t tell me at the inn?”

            Casimer swallowed and looked down, his brow ruffled and his eyes focusing on nothing.  After a moment of silence, he locked eyes with Amanda.  His eyes glowed with the light from the lantern, the electric blue acquiring a darker, more serious tone.

            “Somebody has to stop them,” he started, trailing off.  Amanda’s eyebrow rose as she cocked her head to the side, waiting for him to continue.  Unwittingly, her fingers began twirling her single lock of blonde hair.  “These soldiers are thugs and criminals!  They’re supposed to keep us safe, but they keep us living in fear…”

            “Shtop them?”  Amanda asked, apple juice dribbling down her chin.  After swallowing her mouthful of apple, she scratched her head.  “What do you mean?”

            A determined grin grew on Casimer’s lips, the lantern casting dark circles under his eyelids.  “I’m going to liberate Kaneele.”

            Amanda met Casimer’s eyes with her own and was nearly taken aback by the dark and sinister glow they had taken.  “Gods, you’re serious!” Amanda scoffed, her eyes wide and eyebrows raised to her forehead. 

            “Of course I am!”  Casimer affirmed, the grin growing on Casimer’s face.  “Will you help me?”

            Immediately, Amanda broke out into hysterical laughter, forcing the resting birds to flee from their nests higher in the tree.  “If I had all the time in the world, I would never be able to list the reasons you could never liberate the city!” Amanda chuckled as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. 

            “How hard can it be,” Casimer scoffed, taking a bite of his fresh, red apple.  “All I have to do is get some people to fight off the Imperial Guard and we’re free!”

            “‘Some people’?  You seem to be underestimating Zeke’s trained soldiers,” Amanda noted, her fingers running through her hair.  “Besides, what makes you so sure you can find anyone who’s interested in freeing Kaneele?”

            “There’s plenty of talk at the inn!”  Casimer protested, spitting small apple chunks.  “I could start a small rebellion right now, and I could grow it over the next few weeks!”

            “Okay, let’s pretend you actually managed to liberate Kaneele, and you can’t, may I remind you,” Amanda lectured, dropping her half-eaten apple to the ground.  Her golden brown eyes bore into Casimer like a hot iron.  “You can’t possibly expect Zeke to just sit by, idling his time away while you steal his land.”

            “I would be reclaiming it, not stealing it!”

            “I don’t think Zeke is going to see it that way.”

            “So, what, I should just let the soldiers walk all over us?”

            “Well, no, but-”

            “But what?”  Casimer interrupted, his face slightly red.  “These animals are going to walk all over us until we do something about it!  I’m sick of waiting for someone to come and save our city!  I’ll do it myself if I have to!”

            Amanda stared at Casimer in silence, her lips pulled into a riled pout.  After a few moments, she finally spoke.  “If you want to end up at the end of a guard’s lance like Mr. Kinley, then I suppose that’s your business.”  With a dramatic huff, she leapt off the tree branch.  “I don’t want any part of that, though.”

            Casimer scurried down the tree in a hurry, trying to catch up to Amanda’s angry strides.  “Are you really this mad because I want to free my city?”

            Amanda swiveled around and gave Casimer a warning shove.  “No,” She began, her angry, furrowed brow returning to normal.  “I just don’t want to see you get hurt doing something so…” She trailed off.

            “Stupid?  Idiotic?  Boobish?”  Casimer suggested, finishing her sentence.

            She chuckled and gave him a tender smile.  “How about reckless?”

            Casimer nodded.  “Suits me well, I think.”

            Amanda chuckled again and gently pulled on Casimer’s arm.  “Come on, let’s go home.  My parents are going to start to wonder where I am.”

            “Sure, I’m just going to head to the barn and pick up some firewood first.”  Casimer nodded, pointing behind him to the rotted wood heap of a barn.

            “I’ll come with you,” Amanda smiled, taking the lantern from him.  “After all, you’ll need someone to carry the lantern.”  She gave Casimer a wink and started strolling to the dilapidated, wood barn, leaving him shaking his head.

 

 

 

 

            The old, ramshackle barn sat in the middle of the farm, surrounded on all sides by irregular fields of apple trees, corn, and grain.  The peeling reddish brown paint gave view to the rotten, vile wood beneath.  The roof was missing large sections of tiling, leaving the inside of the barn exposed.  As Casimer neared the neglected building, he could see a strong orange glow coming from the window pane above the large, brown double doors.  Gently nudging Amanda’s side, he pointed to the window and whispered.

            “What do you suppose that light is?”  The words left his lips in gentle huffs.

            “Probably just some local kids playing,” Amanda shrugged, continuing her strut to the barn.  “Come on, I want to be home before it gets too dark.”

            “I don’t know, Amanda,” he muttered as he