Sunstone - Dishonor's Bane (Book 2) Read Free Page B

climbed up on the rocks and sat down. The buzzing continued and he closed his eyes.
    So this must be a nexus. He felt the power flow through him and automatically hummed until his tone matched the buzzing, and then he could feel his body expand as it never had. Could this be the recharging that the old innkeeper had talked about? It must be.
    He spent the rest of the day camped in the meadow, still trying to come to some understanding of why he had power. The buzz from the nexus kept him awake so he had to move further away to sleep for the night. In the morning he sat back up on the rock and hummed the tune again. This time he felt a well being, but no expansion. He had filled his body’s jar of magical power. The thought of having such power still astonished him, but he still would rather be powerless and live in Koriaki with his wife and children. He sighed with melancholy at thoughts of the irretrievable past.
    ~
    Shiro hadn’t been quite prepared for Hoksaka. The city amazed him as soon as he came in sight of it. He’d never seen any city so big before. Few buildings were made out of the whitewashed plaster and timber construction of most of the dwellings in Koriaki. Most of the buildings had roofs of colored tile rather than the more common thatch in Koriaki. He noticed grimy awnings and banners. It looked like city people didn’t take down their building decorations at night.
    Chattering people thronged through the smoothly paved streets. From the insistence of their voices, it seemed that most of them were cursing. Koriaki was never so chaotic. As he rode past all of the people, no one cared to notice him. He felt very small. In Koriaki, even though a number of villagers didn’t care for him, they still nodded and were polite. Here all such conventions seemed to disappear. Hoksaka just didn’t appear to be a very happy city. Boriako would certainly be worse. He felt homesick.
       His horse clopped onto a smooth hard surface he had never seen before. Imagine pavement not made with stones, but hard like stone. Even some of the houses and buildings had foundations and walls of the gray material that paved the streets. There were wonders here amid the curse of crowds and grime. Hoksaka seemed to be filled with new odors. He paused to take a deep breath and smelled the salty tang of the ocean amidst the myriad of less pleasant smells.
    He tied up his horse and walked into an eating bar. It sold rice wine and grilled chicken on skewers that could be dipped into an array of sauces.
    “Concrete,” the man next to him said when Shiro asked about it. “They have quarries where they find cement, the key ingredient. You mix it with lime and sand and it hardens, like ceramic, but it only needs to dry. No firing.”
    “It’s a wonder,” Shiro said. He realized he sounded just like the country bumpkin that he was. “I’m sure there are other wonders in Hoksaka.”
    The man’s eyes grew, “Many wonders? I’d hardly call most of what goes on around here wonderful.” He laughed. “You better not spend too much time in town. Hoksaka will chew you up and spit you out without a care of what damage it has done.”
    Shiro understood the advice. He had to get to Boriako before he could think about enjoying the darker side of a city. Hoksaka probably had many, many more opportunities to go astray, however, he knew that Boriako would be the worst.
    “Do you know of an inn where I can spend the night?” Shiro asked.
    The man eyed his tattoo. “You should go to the Hoksaka Sorcerer’s Guild. I hear you people take care of their own,” the man said.
    So Shiro accepted the advice and found the Sorcerer’s Guild amidst the very best estates in the city after wandering around and asking for directions many times.
    “I’m going to the capital for training.” Shiro showed his tattoo to the guard at the gate. “I need to spend the night and find a boat to sail to Boriako.”
    The thick wooden gates opened and Shiro led his